Category: Au-Au

A machine-generated percentage of the different types of white blood cells, usually split into granulocytes, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, and basophils.

A device that automatically analyzes the heart rhythm and that’if it detects a problem that may respond to an electrical shock’delivers a shock to restore a normal heart rhythm. Thanks to their small size and ease of use, AEDs have been installed in many settings (such as schools and airports), and serve a role in expanding the number…

The enzymatic digestion of cells by enzymes present within them. The cells most susceptible to autolysis tend to be dying or dead cells. Pronounced aw-tol’i-sis.

Giving blood to yourself. For example, patients scheduled for non-emergency surgery may be eligible to donate blood for themselves that will be stored until the surgical procedure. During the period of “storage” the body is making more blood. This donation is suggested in anticipation of a surgical procedure where significant blood loss is common.

In blood transfusion and transplantation, a situation in which the donor and recipient are the same person. Patients scheduled for non-emergency surgery may be autologous donors by donating blood for themselves that will be stored until the surgery. An autologous graft is a graft (such as a graft of skin) that is provided for oneself.

Inoculation of a microorganism obtained by contact with a lesion on one’s own body, producing a secondary infection. This can happen, for example, with a fresh smallpox vaccination if the person who has been vaccinated touches it and transfers the virus to a scrape on their body.

A misdirected immune response that occurs when the immune system goes awry and attacks the body itself. Autoimmunity is present to some extent in everyone and is usually harmless. However, autoimmunity can cause a broad range of human illnesses, known collectively as autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases occur when there is progression from benign autoimmunity to…

A progressive disease of the thyroid gland characterized by the presence of antibodies directed against the thyroid, and by infiltration of the thyroid gland by lymphocytes. Hashimoto thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in North America and Europe. In this condition, the thyroid gland is usually enlarged (goiter) and has a decreased ability to make thyroid hormones.…

Disease of the thyroid gland due to autoimmunity in which the patient’s immune system attacks and damages their thyroid. Graves disease and Hashimoto thyroiditis are forms of autoimmune thyroid disease. In these diseases, thyroid-reactive T cells are formed that infiltrate the thyroid gland. Both disorders are common with a prevalence of about 1% in the US.  Generalized diffuse overactivity…

A process in which the body’s immune system attacks and destroys body tissue that it mistakes for foreign matter. An illness that occurs when the body tissues are attacked by its own immune system. The immune system is a complex organization within the body that is designed normally to “seek and destroy” invaders of the…