| alternative therapy | A term given to nonconventional therapy usually given by persons who do not have a medical qualification. (16 Dec 1997) |
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| alternative | Available in place of something else. (18 Nov 1997) |
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| alternative hypothesis | In Neyman-Pearson testing of a hypothesis, the hypothesis or family of hypotheses about the numerical value of a parameter if and only if the null hypothesis is rejected as untenable. (05 Mar 2000) |
| alternative inheritance | Galton's term for an assumed form in which all the characters are derived from one parent. (05 Mar 2000) |
| alternative medicine | A catch-all phrase for a long list of treatments or medicinal systems including traditional systems such as Chinese or Ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy, various herbals and other miscellaneous treatments that have not been accepted by the mainstream, or Western, medical establishment. Alternative medicine is also referred to as complementary medicine (see). The designation alternative medicine is not equivalent to holistic medicine, which is a more narrow term. See: Holistic Medicine. (09 Oct 1997) |
| alternative mRNA splicing | Splicing different exons in or out of messenger RNA to form different mRNA transcripts. (09 Oct 1997) |
| alternative oxidase | <enzyme> The terminal oxidase in alternative pathway respiration, as seen in plants like sauromatum guttatum (voodoo lily); amino acid sequence for tobacco alternative oxidase (aox1) in first source Registry number: EC 1.- Synonym: aox1 gene product, aox2 gene product, aox3 gene product (26 Jun 1999) |
| alternative oxidase pathway | Pathway of mitochondrial electron transport in higher plants, particularly in fruits and seeds, that does not involve cytochrome oxidase and thus is resistant to cyanide. (18 Nov 1997) |
| alternative pathway | See: complement activation. (18 Nov 1997) |
| alternative splicing | A process whereby multiple protein isoforms are generated from a single gene. Alternative splicing involves the splicing together of nonconsecutive exons during the processing of some, but not all, transcripts of the gene. Thus a particular exon may be connected to any one of several alternative exons to form messenger RNA. The alternative forms produce proteins in which one part is common while the other part is different. (12 Dec 1998) |
| alternative tremor | A coarse, low frequency (3-8 Hz) pathologic tremor produced by alternating contraction of muscles and their antagonists; seen with Parkinson disease and kinetic predominant action tremor. (05 Mar 2000) |
| complement pathway, alternative | The complement activation sequence initiated by the activation of complement factor c3, which is triggered by the interaction of microbial polysaccharides and properdin without participation of an antigen-antibody reaction. (12 Dec 1998) |
| acupuncture therapy | Treatment of disease by inserting needles along specific pathways or meridians. The placement varies with the disease being treated. Heat or moxibustion and acupressure may be used in conjunction. (12 Dec 1998) |
| adjuvant therapy | <oncology, pharmacology> Treatment that is added to increase the effectiveness of a primary treatment. In cancer, adjuvant treatment usually refers to chemotherapy, hormonal therapy or radiation therapy after surgery to increase the likelihood of killing all cancer cells. (14 May 1997) |
| analytic therapy | Short term for psychoanalytic therapy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Antibody Directed Enzyme Prodrug Therapy | <pharmacology> A method for targeting a drug to a specific tissue, in which the targeting agent and the drug are administered separately. The drug is designed to be inactive (a prodrug) until it is converted by an enzyme, which is the targeting agent. The enzyme is coupled to an antibody that directs it to the tissue of interest. When the enzyme arrives at the tissue, the prodrug is activated only at that site, sparing other tissues from potentially toxic side effects. Acronym: ADEPT (14 Nov 1997) |