autoserotherapy
|au-to-ser-o-ther-a-py|
🇺🇸
/ˌɔːtoʊsɪərəˈθɛrəpi/
🇬🇧
/ˌɔːtə(ʊ)sɪərəˈθɛrəpi/
therapy using one's own serum
Etymology
'autoserotherapy' originates from modern medical English compound elements: the Greek-derived prefix 'auto-' meaning 'self', the Latin/Neo-Latin 'serum' meaning 'serum' or 'whey', and Greek 'therapy' from 'therapeia' meaning 'healing or treatment'.
'autoserotherapy' was formed in modern medical usage by combining the older term 'serotherapy' (used since the late 19th/early 20th century to mean treatment with serum) with the prefix 'auto-' to indicate use of the patient's own serum, producing the compound now used in specialized contexts.
Initially, 'serotherapy' referred broadly to treatments using serum (often from other individuals or animals); with the addition of 'auto-' the term came to denote use of the patient's own serum, a narrower and more specific practice.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
therapy in which a patient's own serum is used (injected or applied) for treatment, typically intended to modulate immune responses or provide desensitization.
Autoserotherapy is sometimes offered as an experimental treatment for allergic conditions.
Synonyms
Noun 2
a specific form of immunotherapy used in disorders such as chronic spontaneous urticaria, where autologous serum or plasma is reintroduced to the patient to trigger immunomodulatory effects.
In some clinics, autoserotherapy has been trialed for chronic urticaria with variable results.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/28 15:34