Dictionary of Cancer Terms
View in Spanish: Tasa de sedimentación
Sedimentation rate
The distance red blood cells travel in one hour in a sample of blood as they settle to the bottom of a test tube. The sedimentation rate is increased in inflammation, infection, cancer, rheumatic diseases, and diseases of the blood and bone marrow. Also called erythrocyte sedimentation rate and ESR.
Source: National Cancer Institute Dictionary of Cancer Terms, available at www.cancer.gov/dictionary.