heterophil antibody
- noun
- /ˌhɛtərəˈfɪl ˈæntɪˌbɑdi/
- Specialized
:
anticuerpo heterofílico
- The presence of heterophil antibody in the blood confirmed the doctor's suspicion of infectious mononucleosis.
Examples
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Doctors often test for heterophil antibodies in patients with symptoms of mono.
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A positive test for heterophil antibody is often used to help diagnose cases of glandular fever.
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Researchers are studying the accuracy of heterophil antibody detection in adolescent patients.
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A high level of heterophil antibody indicates infectious mononucleosis.
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A positive test for heterophil antibody is often used to help diagnose cases of glandular fever.
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The presence of heterophil antibody in the blood confirmed the doctor's suspicion of infectious mononucleosis.
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Doctors often test for heterophil antibody in patients with symptoms of mono.
Synonyms
1
7.5
A substance in the blood that reacts to parts from other animals and often appears in people with glandular fever
1
9.9
An antibody that reacts with substances from a different species, often used in medical tests
Surface Forms
Morphology
heterophil + antibody
The term names a specific, technical medical marker and relies on an obscure element ('heterophil') that is not transparent or productive for a B1 learner; knowing only 'antibody' does not allow derivation of the diagnostic meaning. Even if a learner recognizes the prefix 'hetero-', the specialized sense and diagnostic usage are language‑ and field‑specific rather than compositional, so the expression is not predictable from its parts.
Etymology
Heterophil antibody comes from lab work: hetero means 'different' and phil means 'likes', so these antibodies would stick to blood cells from other animals in early tests. Doctors used that clear reaction to spot glandular fever, also called infectious mononucleosis, so today the term means an antibody found in the blood that helps 'diagnose' the illness.