Definition of "autoimmune disorder" [autoimmune disorder]

• Any of a large group of diseases characterized by abnormal functioning of the immune system that causes your immune system to produce antibodies against your own tissues (noun)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "Ultimately—through a combination of my own research, questions to the nurse, and specific questions to the doctor fed through my mom—I learned that my ITP was an autoimmune disorder in which my own body made antibodies against my platelets, essentially attacking them."
• "Known as arachnoiditis, this devastating autoimmune disorder can lead to paralysis in the legs and turn life threatening as it attacks nerves throughout the lower organs of the body, even shutting down the bladder and bowels."