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Glite Dictionary
Rh-negative blood

Rh-negative blood

1 5.0
Blood with red blood cells that do not have the Rh factor
  • noun
  • /ɑrˈeɪtʃ ˈnɛɡətɪv blʌd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sangre Rh negativa
  • Patients with Rh-negative blood require special care during pregnancy to avoid complications.

Examples

  • She has Rh-negative blood.

  • A blood transfusion can be risky if a person with Rh-negative blood receives Rh-positive blood.

  • Before a transfusion, doctors check if the patient has Rh-negative blood to avoid complications.

  • People with Rh-negative blood can donate to both Rh-negative and Rh-positive recipients.

  • Pregnant women with Rh-negative blood may need special care if the baby is Rh-positive.

  • Many people with Rh-negative blood may need special care.

  • Only about 15% of the population has Rh-negative blood, making it a rarer blood type.

Synonyms

Rh-negative blood type
vsRh-negative blood
  • Specialized
6.0

A blood group in which red blood cells do not have the Rh factor

is the simpler label that names the same condition without the word type

Surface Forms

Rh-negative blood singular
Rh-negative bloods plural

Morphology

Rh-negative + blood

The phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'Rh-negative' (= lacking the Rh factor) modifies 'blood', so the meaning 'blood that does not have the Rh antigen' is directly derivable from the parts. Although clinical terminology, the morphological and semantic combination follows regular English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would understand it.

Etymology

Rh-negative blood gets its name from tests on a kind of monkey called the rhesus monkey, where doctors found a small marker on red blood cells. Rh is that marker and negative means it is not there, so the term means 'blood that does not have the Rh marker' and this matters for pregnancy and blood transfusions.