| prior | The superior of a priory, and next below an abbot in dignity. Conventical, or Conventual, prior, a prior who is at the head of his own house. See the Note under Priory. Claustral prior, an official next in rank to the abbot in a monastery; prior of the cloisters. Origin: OE. Priour, OF. Priour, prior, priur, F. Prieur, from L. Prior former, superior. See Prior. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| prior probability | The best rational assessment of the probability of an outcome on the basis of established knowledge before the present information is included. For instance, the prior probability of the daughter of a carrier of haemophilia being herself haemophiliac is 1/2. But if she already has one child, an affected son, the posterior probability that she is a carrier is unity, whereas if she has one child, a normal one, the posterior probability that she is a carrier is 1/3. See: Bayes theorem. (05 Mar 2000) |
| device approval | Process that is gone through in order for a device to receive approval by a government regulatory agency. This includes any required preclinical or clinical testing, review, submission, and evaluation of the applications and test results, and post-marketing surveillance. It is not restricted to FDA. (12 Dec 1998) |
| drug approval | Process that is gone through in order for a drug to receive approval by a government regulatory agency. This includes any required pre-clinical or clinical testing, review, submission, and evaluation of the applications and test results, and post-marketing surveillance of the drug. (12 Dec 1998) |