I am looking for a definition of "autolipid" from the following
sentence. "The small intestine mucosa is moderately completely
autolipid, as it is not possible to assess the villi."

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 22 Nov 2004 10:52 PST

dobbin -- 

It might help us to know where you came across the sentence.  Was it
an English translation of a document written in another language?

markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by dobbin-ga on 22 Nov 2004 18:20 PST

The sentence came from an autopsy report I commissioned. I too could
find no definition in the english language and also found the link
with autolysed.  Indeed to further quote the report "A sample of the
proximal large intestine is mildly autolysed"  (this connection
commented on by "pinkfreud -ga"

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Clarification of Question by dobbin-ga on 22 Nov 2004 19:11 PST

thank you markj-ga - your research pretty much mimics mine - I think
I'll  wait and ask my vet - should I now cancel the question ? - this
is the first time I have used this service

I cannot find any references to 'autolipid' as a word in the English language.

In the sentence you quote, 'autolytic' would make sense. Consider this
similar passage:

"Microscopic lesions were confined to the terminal portion of the
small intestine and were partially obscured by autolytic changes.
Sections of ileum had chronic change consisting of dilated intestinal
crypts which were lined by enterocytes which were attenuated and
flattened... The lamina propria was collapsed and had a fibrous
appearance due to loss of enterocytes lining the villi."

http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/mammals/wild2/maintext.htm 

A definition of 'autolytic' may be found here:

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=autolytic

dobbin --

I have found one -- and only one -- Web page where the term
"autolipids" (plural) is used repeatedly.  I do not have the special
expertise needed to define the term in the context of the autopsy
report that you have cited, but possibly another researcher does.  To
this lay reader, the term "autolipids" appears to refer to lipids that
are produced by the patient's own blood.  Here is an excerpt from the
Web page I have found, followed by a link to it that contains several
other references to the term:

"Lipacids and lipobases from various sources are used as fundamental
lipids.  We are trying to substitute, to toal lipacids and lipobases,
some lipids showing certain specifities and certain preponderant
secondary actions.  This is how, iso or even auto-lipids are used,
prepared in the latter case from the patient?s own blood, from that of
a same species or in case of humans, from human placenta.  Lipids of
foreign origin can be used such as lipacids from animal?s organs or
placentas, from cod liver oil, or carotenoidic lipacids."

ReviciCeuticals: THE LIPIDIC BALANCE IN BIOLOGY: THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS
http://www.reviciceuticals.com/html/lipids.htm


One other site (in German) uses the term "autolipide" ("lipide" is an
alternative spelling of lipid, as is "lipoid").  Here is a link to
that site:

Medizinische Woche Baden-Baden: Veranstaltungsdetails 
http://www.medwoche.de/2003/kurse.phtml?id_k=V191 

As I said, I do not have the background to be able to judge the
relevance of these websites to your question, but I hope that the
information is helpful to you.

markj-ga

Something that may be worthy of note here is that the person
performing the autopy would very likely have dictated his findings as
he went along. The taped dictation would then be typed up by his
assistant or secretary. This process can often (and I speak from
personal experience) lead to mistranslation (such as 'autolytic' to
'autolipid', as suggested).

dobbin --

Here, from the Google Answers FAQ page, are the instructions for
cancelling a question:

"To cancel your question, log into to your account and go to 'My
Account.' When you see the list of questions you have asked, click on
the question you wish to cancel. Then click on the 'Cancel Question'
button at the top of the page. Confirm your decision by clicking 'Yes,
Cancel Question.'"

I agree with gagaplex-ga's comment that the use of the word in the
autopsy may have been a typographical error.  It seems very strange
that there are virtually no online references to the word, and the
examples I found were used as nouns, while the one you cite appears to
be an adjective.

markj-ga