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| Romberg test | <clinical sign> With feet approximated, the patient stands with eyes open and then closed; if closing the eyes increases the unsteadiness, a loss of proprioceptive control is indicated, and the sign is positive. Synonym: Romberg test, Romberg's symptom, rombergism, station test. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| Romer's test | A test of historical interest: tuberculin, either pure or diluted, is injected intracutaneously into a guinea pig; if the animal is tuberculous, a large papule with a necrotic haemorrhagic centre appears in about 24 hours (cocarde or cockade reaction). (05 Mar 2000) |
| metrotrophic test | A test for the assay of oestrogenic substances; immature female rats (25 to 49 g) are injected subcutaneously with the hormone and killed after 6 hours, when the increase in uterine weight (due largely to imbibation of water) is taken as the criterion of oestrogenic activity. Synonym: Astwood's test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| metyrapone test | <endocrinology, investigation> This test measures the ability of the pituitary gland to secrete ACTH in response to a low serum cortisol level. Under normal conditions a low serum cortisol level should stimulate the pituitary to produce ACTH, which stimulates the adrenal glands to produce more cortisol. This test is performed by injecting metyrapone into the bloodstream and then measuring cortisol levels over a period of time. Metyrapone is a substance which inhibits an enzyme (steroid 11-beta hydroxylase) involved in the synthesis of cortisol. This enzyme normally converts 11-deoxycortisol to cortisol. When the enzyme is inhibited, 11-deoxycortisol levels will increase in the blood and urine and cortisol levels will go down. This test is useful in differentiating the different forms of Cushing's syndrome: adrenal hyperplasia versus primary adrenal tumour. Those with an adrenal tumour (or carcinoma) generally have no response to metyrapone injection, since the dose is insufficient to inhibit cortisol synthesis. (27 Sep 1997) |
| Ropes test | A test that reflects the polymerization of synovial fluid hyaluronate; a few drops of synovial fluid added to acetic acid form a clot; poor clot formation occurs in a variety of inflammatory conditions including septic arthritis, gouty arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Synonym: Ropes test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| rorschach test | A projective test used to evaluate a broad range of personality variables including pathology of thought and perception. The subject's responses to inkblot prints are scored along with subjective interpretation by the test administrator. (12 Dec 1998) |
| MHA-TP test | A microtiter version of the Treponema pallidum haemagglutination test. Synonym: MHA-TP test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| rose bengal radioactive test | A test of liver function used as a means of measuring hepatic blood flow and for scintillation scanning of the liver to determine size and contour of the liver, or the presence of space-occupying masses in the liver. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Rosenbach-Gmelin test | A test for bile in the urine or other body fluid; nitric acid, with a little nitrous acid, is cautiously added to a few milliliters of the material to be tested; if bile (bilirubin) is present, it is oxidised to varying degrees, thereby resulting in disklike zones that are (from the interface outward) yellow, red, violet, blue, and green; development of green and violet layers is essential to the validity of the test. Synonym: Rosenbach-Gmelin test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Rosenbach's test | A test for bile in the urine; the suspected urine is passed several times through the same filter paper, which is then dried and touched with a drop of slightly fuming nitric acid; the presence of bile is indicated by the resulting play of colours characteristic of the bile pigments (a yellow spot surrounded by rings of red, violet, blue, and green). (05 Mar 2000) |
| rosette test | A test for rosette-forming cells (T-lymphocytes) in which these cells and sheep erythrocytes, are incubated and centrifuged lightly, then examined under a microscope for rosette formation or adherence of erythrocytes to T lymphocytes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Rose-Waaler test | A test of historical interest: when sheep red cells are suspended in a concentration of antiserum to sheep red cells which is too low to cause agglutination, the addition of serum from a patient with rheumatoid arthritis will cause agglutination. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Ross-Jones test | A test for an excess of globulin in the cerebrospinal fluid; 1 ml of cerebrospinal fluid is carefully floated over 2 ml of a concentrated ammonium sulfate solution; if globulin is present in excess, a fine white ring appears at the line of junction in about 3 min. (05 Mar 2000) |
| rotavirus antigen test | <investigation, microbiology> A test which detects the presence of rotavirus in the stool. This virus is a common cause of childhood gastroenteritis. (17 Dec 1997) |
| rotavirus stool test | <investigation> A test which detects the presence of rotavirus in the stool. This virus is a common cause of childhood gastroenteritis. (17 Dec 1997) |