Apheresis, a child spawned by technology and nourished by publicity, is still in its infancy as a treatment for rheumatic diseases. Despite occasional prodigious displays, it is more often unpredictable, costly, and applied without proper concern for the complexities of the procedure. A measure of the notoriety surrounding apheresis is the fact that although there is a general consensus concerning meaning, the term has yet to be defined in most medical dictionaries. Certainly the definition which appears in most conventional dictionaries-"the loss or omission of one or more sounds at the beginning of a word (e.g., esquire to squire)"-is inadequate. To assist the lexicographer assigned the task of defining current medical use of the term, the following seems reasonable: apheresis (6 fer 13 sis) [Gr. uphuiresis, take away] removal of a component of the blood from the intravascular circulation. apheresis, a word termination denoting removal of the word stem to which it is affixed, as plasmapheresis, leukapheresis, cryoapheresis, etc.
TECHNOLOGY
Procedures for apheresis have greatly improved since the antiquated methods involving venesection and the more recent, but short-lived, procedure of drainage of the thoracic duct. Apheresis technology was created primarily for blood banking purposes and From the Arthritis and Rheumatism Branch, National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, and Digestive and Kidney Diseases,