'autoreinfusion' originates from Modern English, formed by combining the Greek-derived prefix 'auto-' (from Greek 'autos', meaning 'self') with 'reinfusion' (from Latin elements 're-' meaning 'again' and 'infusio/infundere' meaning 'to pour in').

'autoreinfusion' developed as a late 20th-century medical compound, often written initially as 'auto-reinfusion' or expressed as 'autologous reinfusion' and is related to the older term 'autotransfusion'; over time the concatenated form 'autoreinfusion' has been used in clinical literature.

Initially used specifically for reinfusion of shed intraoperative blood collected and processed during surgery; its usage has broadened to include reinfusion of various autologous blood components collected and returned to the same patient.