seronegativity
- noun
- /ˌsɛrəˈnɛɡɪvɪti/
- Specialized
- The doctor explained that her seronegativity meant she had never been exposed to the virus.
Examples
-
His seronegativity was confirmed after multiple blood tests revealed no antibodies present.
-
Those employees who test positive (with a confirmatory Western blot following a positive ELISA, at DoD expense) will not be assigned to host nations that require seronegativity.
Academic text (1992) -
Broken horizontal line = cut-off; values below this indicate seronegativity.
Academic text (1997) -
A test result showing seronegativity indicates that the patient is not currently infected.
Antonyms
- Specialized
1
8.3
Having certain antibodies in the blood that show you were exposed to or infected by a disease
How Positive
- Specialized
1
8.3
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
seronegativity = seronegative (semi-transparent) = sero + negative + ity
The term 'seronegative' is specialized, and the suffix '-ity' forms a noun indicating a state, but the medical context may not be immediately clear.
Etymology
Seronegativity comes from the part sero- meaning 'serum', the clear liquid of the blood, and the word negative meaning 'not present'. So seronegativity means 'no antibodies in the blood serum', which shows someone has likely not been exposed to the infection.