Peripheral stem cell support

From WikiMD.org
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Peripheral Stem Cell Support

Peripheral stem cell support (pronunciation: puh-rif-er-uhl stem sel suh-port) is a medical procedure used to replace blood-forming stem cells in patients who have had theirs destroyed by very high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

Etymology

The term "peripheral" refers to the outer areas of the body, in this case, the blood circulating outside of the bone marrow. "Stem cell" refers to the undifferentiated cells capable of giving rise to indefinitely more cells of the same type, and from which certain other kinds of cell arise by differentiation. "Support" in this context refers to the aid or assistance in the form of stem cells.

Procedure

In Peripheral stem cell support, stem cells are harvested from the peripheral blood of the donor. These cells are then processed and stored until they are needed for the recipient. The recipient is then treated with high-dose chemotherapy or radiation therapy to destroy their existing stem cells. After this treatment, the stored stem cells are infused back into the patient's bloodstream where they travel to the bone marrow and begin producing new blood cells.

Related Terms

  • Stem Cell: A cell with the unique ability to develop into specialised cell types in the body.
  • Chemotherapy: A type of cancer treatment that uses drugs to destroy cancer cells.
  • Radiation Therapy: The use of high-energy radiation from x-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, protons, and other sources to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.
  • Bone Marrow: The spongy tissue inside some of your bones, such as your hip and thigh bones. It contains immature cells, called stem cells.
  • Blood Cell: The cells that circulate in the blood, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

See Also

External links

Esculaap.svg

This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.


Languages: - East Asian 中文, 日本, 한국어, South Asian हिन्दी, Urdu, বাংলা, తెలుగు, தமிழ், ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, မြန်မာဘာသာ, European español, Deutsch, français, русский, português do Brasil, Italian, polski