| immune agglutination | Agglutination caused by antibody (agglutinin) that is specific for the suspended microorganism, cell, or for an antigen that has been coated on a particle of suitable size. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| indirect agglutination | Agglutination of particles that have been coated with soluble antigen, by antiserum specific for the adsorbed antigen. Synonym: indirect agglutination. (05 Mar 2000) |
| false agglutination | 1. Agglomeration of particles in solution which does not involve antigen-antibody combination. Synonym: false agglutination. Synonym: rouleaux formation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| latex agglutination | Also known as latex particle agglutination, for detection of antibodies is identical to haemagglutination in principle, but the substitution of smaller, antigen-coated latex particles for erythrocytes results in improved sensitivity and reagent longevity. Alternatively, antibodies can be absorbed to the latex particles (under appropriate ionic and pH conditions) by binding to the Fc region of antibodies, leaving the Fab region free to interact with antigens present in the applied specimens. This phenomenon has made latex agglutination a popular technique for detecting antigens as well. (05 Mar 2000) |
| latex agglutination test | A passive agglutination test in which antigen is adsorbed onto latex particles which then clump in the presence of antibody specific for the adsorbed antigen. Synonym: latex fixation test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acoustic impedance tests | Objective tests of middle ear function based on the difficulty (impedance) or ease (admittance) of sound flow through the middle ear. These include static impedance and dynamic impedance (i.e., tympanometry and impedance tests in conjunction with intra-aural muscle reflex elicitation). This term is used also for various components of impedance and admittance (e.g., compliance, conductance, reactance, resistance, susceptance). (12 Dec 1998) |
| Alpha tests | A set of paper and pencil-administered mental tests first used in the United States Army in 1917-1918 to determine the mental ability of literate recruits; the set includes 8 different types of tests: i.e., directions, arithmetical problems, practical judgement, synonyms and antonyms, disarrayed sentences, number series completions, analogies, and information; they are designed especially for testing large groups of individuals simultaneously, and for rapid machine scoring; distinguished from the Army Beta tests, a complementary set for administration to recruits who could not read or write English, in which the instructions are given in signs and the test material is pictorial. See: Beta tests. Synonym: Army Alpha tests. (05 Mar 2000) |
| aptitude tests | Primarily non-verbal tests designed to predict an individual's future learning ability or performance. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Beta tests | <psychiatry> A set of pictorially administered mental tests first used in the United States Army in 1917-1918 to determine the relative mental ability of recruits who were illiterate or deficient in reading and writing English, the instructions being given in signs and the test material's pictorial in characters; distinguished from the Army Alpha tests, which were administered at the same time to literate recruits. Synonym: Army Beta tests. (05 Mar 2000) |
| blood coagulation tests | Laboratory tests for evaluating the individual's clotting mechanism. (12 Dec 1998) |
| breath tests | Any tests done on exhaled air. (12 Dec 1998) |
| bronchial provocation tests | Tests involving inhalation of allergens (nebulised or in dust form), nebulised pharmacologically active solutions (e.g., histamine, methacholine), or control solutions, followed by assessment of respiratory function. These tests are used in the diagnosis of asthma. (12 Dec 1998) |
| caloric tests | Elicitation of a rotatory nystagmus by stimulating the saemicircular canals with water or air which is above or below body temperature. In warm caloric stimulation a rotatory nystagmus is developed toward the side of the stimulated ear; in cold, away from the stimulated side. Absence of nystagmus indicates the labyrinth is not functioning. (12 Dec 1998) |
| carcinogenicity tests | Tests to experimentally measure the tumour-producing/cancer cell-producing potency of an agent by administering the agent (e.g., benzanthracenes) and observing the quantity of tumours or the cell transformation developed over a given period of time. The carcinogenicity value is usually measured as milligrams of agent administered per tumour developed. Though this test differs from the DNA-repair and bacterial microsome mutagenicity tests, researchers often attempt to correlate the finding of carcinogenicity values and mutagenicity values. (12 Dec 1998) |
| pancreatic function tests | Tests based on the biochemistry and physiology of the exocrine pancreas and involving analysis of blood, duodenal contents, feces, or urine for products of pancreatic secretion. (12 Dec 1998) |