| precipitating antibody | <protein> Any antibody that forms a precipitating complex (a precipitin line) with an appropriate multivalent antigen. The term is now outmoded. (18 Nov 1997) |
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| precipitating cause | A factor that brings on the onset of manifestations of a disease process. (05 Mar 2000) |
| precipitating factors | Factors associated with the definitive onset of a disease, illness, accident, behavioural response, or course of action. Usually one factor is more important or more obviously recognizable than others, if several are involved, and one may often be regarded as "necessary". Examples include exposure to specific disease; amount or level of an infectious organism, drug, or noxious agent, etc. (12 Dec 1998) |