Immunization - Immunophenotype

immunization

(im″yŭ-nĭ-zā′shŏn) [L. immunitas, exemption, immunity] The protection of individuals or groups from specific diseases by vaccination or the injection of immune globulins. SEE: vaccination; vaccine for table.

 active i. The administration of a vaccine to prevent disease.

 catch-up i. Catch-up vaccination.

 maternal i. The administration of vaccines to pregnant women before the birth of the child, e.g., to prevent diseases such as influenza, tetanus, or Group B streptococcus.

 passive i. The administration of disease-specific antibodies to prevent an illness, e.g., the giving of immunoglobulin (IG) to a person exposed to a pathogen such as rabies, tetanus, or varicella.

immunization requirement

Any of the compulsory vaccinations against those contagious diseases that are considered a threat to public health, established as a prerequisite for employment, enrollment in school, or travel abroad.

immuno-

[L. immunis, exempt, free from] Prefix meaning immune, immunity.

immunoablation

(ĭm-ū″-nō-ă-blā′shŭn) The systematic destruction of a patient’s immune competence. Immunoablation is used to prepare patients for organ transplantation and to treat refractory autoimmune diseases, esp. when followed by immunoreconstruction (usually with autologous stem cell transplantation).

 PATIENT CARE: Patients who have undergone immunoablation may be easily infected by caregivers. Careful handwashing and infection control techniques (such as “reverse isolation”) should be used to limit exposing these patients to harmful pathogens.

immunoabsorbent, immunoabsorbant

(im″yŭ-nō-ăb-sor′bĕnt, im-ū″nō-) [immuno- + absorbent] Immunosorbent.

immunoabsorption

(im″yŭ-nō-ăb-sorp′shŏn, i-mū″) Immunoadsorption.

immunoadhesin

(im″yŭ-nō-ad-hē′sĭn, im-ū″nō-ad-hē′sĭn) A genetically engineered, antibody-like protein that fuses the Fc region of an immunoglobulin and the ligand-binding region of a receptor or adhesion molecule. Immunoadhesins can be used to direct the immune-responsive effect of cytokines to tumor cells and to stimulate the destruction of such cells.

immunoadsorbent

(im″yŭ-nō-ad-sor′bĕnt, im-ū″nō-) [immuno- + adsorbent] Immunosorbent.

immunoadsorption

(im″yŭ-nō-ad-sorp′shŏn, i-mū″) [immuno- + adsorption] The selective removal of a desired compound from a solution or a mixture, using an antibody or antigen that has been bound to a large, insoluble molecule. It is an immunological means of obtaining a pure sample of an antigenically unique substance from a disorderly specimen. SYN: immunoabsorption.

immunoaffinity purification

(ĭ-mū″nō-ă-fĭn′ĭ-tē, ĭ-mū″) Exposure to monoclonal antibodies in order to isolate specific analytes. Immunoaffinity purification is used during the preparation of blood products to reduce their likelihood of contamination by specific disease-causing microorganisms.

immunoassay

(im″yŭ-nō-as′ā″, i-mū′nō-as′ā″) [immuno- + assay] Any of several laboratory techniques that detect or measure ...