The definitions used in this glossary of terminology either have been provided by the authors of the articles, or have been extracted wholly or in part, or paraphrased from the following sources: The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles B. Clayman, MD, Medical Editor, Random House, New York, 1989; Biotechnology from A to Z, 2d Edition, William Bains, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; A Dictionary of Genetics, 6th Edition, Robert C. King and William D. Stansfield, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th and 30th Editions, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 2000, 2003; Genes VII, Benjamin Lewin, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2000; The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, Volumes I and II, Stacey L. Blachford, Ed., Thomson Learning, New York, New York, 2002; The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts, 1997; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd Edition, Bruce Alberts, et al., Garland Publishing, 1994; The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition, 1966; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1991.

DEFINITION:

type I (immediate) hypersensitivity

1. Type I hypersensitivity - That occurring rapidly, within several minutes, upon reexposure to an antigen, due to interaction of IgE and the antigen.

2. Occasionally, any form of hypersensitivity mediated by antibodies and developing rapidly, generally in minutes to hours (i.e., type I hypersensitivity , type II hypersensitivity , or type III hypersensitivity ), as distinguished from that mediated by T lymphocytes and macrophages and generally requiring 24 to 72 hours to develop ( type IV hypersensitivity , sometimes called delayed hypersensitivity ).