A blood test measuring how quickly red blood cells settle to the bottom of a test tube over one hour. An elevated ESR indicates inflammation somewhere in the body but doesn't specify the location or cause.
From Greek 'erythros' (red) + 'kytos' (cell), combined with Latin 'sedimentum' (settling). First described by Edmund Biernacki in 1897, this test literally measures how fast red cells 'sit down' in a tube.
Try Another Word