An antibody in the blood that clumps or sticks bacteria together, helping the body's immune system eliminate the infection.
From bacteria + agglutinin (from Latin 'agglutinare' meaning to glue together). This immunological term emerged in the early 1900s when scientists discovered antibodies with this specific function.
Bacterioagglutinin testing was actually used as a diagnostic tool before we had modern blood tests—doctors could measure how much of this antibody was present to confirm a bacterial infection.
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