autoerythrocyte sensitization

sensitization

 [sen″sĭ-tĭ-za´shun]

1. immunization.

2. exposure to allergen that results in the development of hypersensitivity.

3. the coating of erythrocytes with antibody so that they are subject to lysis by complement in the presence of homologous antigen, the first stage of a complement fixation test.

autoerythrocyte sensitization see autoerythrocyte sensitization syndrome.

Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

au·to·e·ryth·ro·cyte sen·si·ti·za·tion syn·drome

a condition, usually occurring in women, in which the person bruises easily (purpura simplex) and the ecchymoses tend to enlarge and involve adjacent tissues, resulting in pain in the affected parts; so called because similar lesions are produced by inoculation of the person's blood or various components of red blood cells and it is thought to be a form of localized autosensitization, although no specific antibodies have been demonstrable.

Synonym(s): Gardner-Diamond syndrome

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