| qualitative alteration | In electric irritability, a change in which the muscle contracts as readily on application of the anode as on that of the cathode. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| qualitative analysis | Determination of the nature, as opposed to the quantity, of each of the elements composing a substance. (05 Mar 2000) |
| qualitative trait | <genetics> A feature that can conveniently and effectively be analyzed by sorting into classes either because there is no satisfactory way of measuring it (as with blood groups) or because it falls into natural classes so that the variation among classes far exceeds that within classes (e.g., the phenotypic effects of many enzyme polymorphisms); existence of categories suggests but does not prove the operation of a major, simple, underlying cause. Synonym: qualitative trait. (05 Mar 2000) |