gammopathy

1 9.9

A condition with too many proteins that fight infection in the blood

noun
/ˌɡæməˈpɑθi/

Specialized

: gamopatía

In her research, she found that many patients with chronic infections can develop gammopathy due to increased immune response.
monoclonal gammopathy

Examples

The doctor explained that my grandfather has a condition known as gammopathy, which means his body produces an abnormal amount of immunoglobulins.
Understanding gammopathy is crucial for diagnosing various blood-related disorders affecting antibody production.
Serum immunofixation revealed an elevated IgG level with monoclonal gammopathy; no monoclonal gammopathy was evident in the urine.

Academic text (2010)
Serum immunofixation revealed an elevated IgG level with monoclonal gammopathy; no monoclonal gammopathy was evident in the urine.

Academic text (2010)

Surface Forms

gammopathy singular

gammopathies plural

Morphology

gammopathy = gamma (semi-transparent) = gamma + pathy

Formed from 'gamma' + the medical combining form '-pathy' meaning disease/abnormality; 'gamma' is clear but '-pathy' is specialized and may be unfamiliar to average learners.

Etymology

Gammopathy combines gamma, the name for a group of blood proteins called antibodies, and -pathy meaning 'disease'. So gammopathy is a condition involving those gamma proteins, which is why it refers to an abnormal increase of antibody proteins in the blood.