human gamma globulin
- noun
- /ˈhjuːmən ˈɡæmə ˈɡlɒbjuːlɪn/
- Specialized
- The medical team administered human gamma globulin to help the patient recover from a severe infection.
Examples
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Doctors sometimes recommend human gamma globulin for individuals exposed to infectious diseases to enhance immunity.
-
In addition, human gamma globulin and monoclonal antibodies have prophylactic and therapeutic effects in mice infected with Bordetella pertussis.
Academic text (1992) -
Human gamma globulin is often used to boost the immune system in patients who lack certain human gamma globulin.
Synonyms
A protein made by the body that acts as an antibody to fight germs
Proteins that the body makes to help fight infections
Proteins in the blood that help the body fight infection
A blood protein made by the body to fight infections
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from 'human' (origin) + 'gamma' (a class label) + 'globulin' (a protein), so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it denotes a kind of human protein. However, the specific biomedical sense — that 'gamma globulin' refers to immunoglobulins and their immune-function role — is specialized and not predictable at B1 level, making the expression only partially transparent.
Etymology
Human gamma globulin comes from early lab tests where scientists separated blood proteins and found a group at the 'gamma' end of the test, globulin named the round protein group, and human shows it comes from people. That's why human gamma globulin means the blood proteins used as antibodies to give short-term 'immunity'.