immunoreactivity
|im-mu-no-re-ac-tiv-i|
🇺🇸
/ˌɪm.jə.noʊ.riˈæk.tɪv.ɪ.ti/
🇬🇧
/ˌɪm.juː.nəʊ.riˈæk.tɪv.ɪ.ti/
degree of immune reaction
Etymology
'immunoreactivity' is formed from the combining form 'immuno-' (from Latin 'immunis' via New Latin, meaning 'exempt' and later 'relating to immunity') + 'reactivity' (from 'react' + the nominal suffix '-ity').
'immuno-' entered scientific English in Modern/New Latin to denote 'relating to immunity'; 'reactivity' derives from the verb 'react' (from Latin components 're-' meaning 'again' and 'agere' meaning 'to do/drive') plus the abstract noun suffix '-ity'; these elements were combined in 20th-century scientific usage to form 'immunoreactivity'.
Originally 'immuno-' related to exemption ('exempt'), but in modern biomedical usage it has come to mean 'relating to the immune system'; 'react' originally meant 'to do/drive back' or 'act again' and evolved to mean 'respond', so the compound now means 'the tendency or degree to respond to immune components'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the capacity or degree to which a substance (such as an antigen, tissue, or cell) reacts with components of the immune system (for example, antibodies); often used to describe binding or staining observed in immunoassays or immunohistochemistry.
The biopsy showed strong immunoreactivity for cytokeratin.
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Noun 2
a measured response in laboratory immunological tests indicating whether and how strongly a sample reacts with a specific antibody or reagent (used in diagnostics and research).
Serum immunoreactivity against the viral protein was assessed by ELISA.
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Last updated: 2025/10/30 01:13