| indirect assay | For antibody; an application of the ELISA method in which serum being tested for antibody is added to wells coated with known antigen; presence of antibody bound to the antigen coat can be determined by addition of immunoglobulin-specific antibody to which is linked the enzyme of the indicator system, followed by addition of substrate to the washed aggregate. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| indirect bilirubin | <biochemistry> Free bilirubin that has not been attached to a glucuronide molecule. This results from the rapid breakdown of red blood cells. The haemoglobin molecule is normally converted to bilirubin. Greater than normal values of indirect bilirubin can be seen in erythroblastosis foetalis, haemolytic anaemia, sickle cell anaemia, transfusion reactions, pernicious anaemia and resolution of large haematomas. (27 Sep 1997) |
| indirect Coombs' test | A test routinely performed in cross-matching blood or in the investigation of transfusion reaction: test for patient's serum is incubated with a suspension of donor erythrocytes; if specific antibodies are present, they become attached to the antigen in donor's cells; after a washing with saline, Coombs' antihuman globulin is added; agglutination at this point indicates that antibodies present in the original test serum had indeed become attached to donor erythrocytes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indirect diuretic | A diuretic that acts by increasing cardiac function or by increasing the state of hydration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indirect fluorescent antibody | The detection of antibodies to specific antigenic material in the substrate using fluorescent microscopy. Using fluorescent conjugated antibodies which are specific for a particular isotype of antibody, it is possible to distinguish IgG, IgA and IgM isotypes of specific antibodies using indirect fluorescent antibody. This sensitive technique is highly specific in well-trained hands and recent developments in the establishment of internationally recognised standard materials have led to accurate quantitation of antibody concentrations through endpoint titration (the highest serial dilution of specimen at which specific fluorescence remains) and through measuring visual intensity of fluorescence compared to known reference standard material. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indirect fracture | A fracture, especially of the skull, that occurs at a point not at the site of impact. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indirect haemagglutination test | A kind of passive agglutination in which erythrocytes, usually modified by mild treatment with tannic acid or other chemicals, are used to adsorb soluble antigen onto their surface, and which then agglutinate in the presence of antiserum specific for the adsorbed antigen. Synonym: indirect haemagglutination test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indirect immunofluorescence | <procedure> A method of immunofluorescence staining in which the first antibody, that is directed against the antigen to be localised, is used unlabelled and the location of the first antibody is then detected by use of a fluorescently labelled antiIgG (against IgGs of the species in which the first antibody was raised). The advantage is that there is some amplification and a well characterised goat antirabbit IgG antibody can, for example: be used against a scarce specific antibody raised in rabbits. The same technique can be used for ultrastructural localisation of the first antibody by substituting peroxidase or gold labelled second antibody. (18 Nov 1997) |
| indirect inguinal hernia | <surgery> The abnormal passage of an internal abdominal organ or structure through the inguinal canal. In males, this will result in a unilateral bulge in the scrotum, in females there will be unilateral swelling in the region of the labia majora. Inguinal hernias are classified as direct or indirect on the basis of the anatomic path the hernia undertakes through the inguinal canal. Many hernias will reduce (go away) on their own but return at times of straining or lifting. A hernia that does not go away and causes pain is a surgical emergency. (27 Sep 1997) |
| indirect lead | One of the three original bipolar limb lead's of the clinical electrocardiogram, designated I, II and III: lead I records the potential difference between the right and left arms; lead II the difference between right arm and left leg; and lead III the difference between left arm and left leg. Synonym: indirect lead. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indirect life cycle | <epidemiology> A life cycle which requires one or more intermediate hosts before the definitive host species is reinfected. Compare direct, nondirect. (05 Dec 1998) |
| indirect liquefaction | Conversion of biomass to a liquid fuel through a synthesis gas intermediate step. (05 Dec 1998) |
| indirect nuclear division | <cell biology> A method of indirect division of a cell, consisting of a complex of various processes, by means of which the two daughter nuclei normally receive identical complements of the number of chromosomes characteristic of the somatic cells of the species. Mitosis, the process by which the body grows and replaces cells, is divided into four phases. 1. Prophase: formation of paired chromosomes, disappearance of nuclear membrane, appearance of the achromatic spindle, formation of polar bodies. 2. Metaphase: arrangement of chromosomes in the equatorial plane of the central spindle to form the monaster. Chromosomes separate into exactly similar halves. 3. Anaphase: the two groups of daughter chromosomes separate and move along the fibres of the central spindle, each toward one of the asters, forming the diaster. 4. Telophase: the daughter chromosomes resolve themselves into a reticulum and the daughter nuclei are formed, the cytoplasm divides, forming two complete daughter cells. NOTE: the term mitosis is used interchangeably with cell division, but strictly speaking it refers to nuclear division, whereas cytokinesis refers to division of the cytoplasm. In some cells, as in many fungi and the fertilized eggs of many insects, nuclear division occurs within the cell unaccompanied by division of the cytoplasm and formation of daughter cells. (13 Nov 1997) |
| indirect ophthalmoscope | <instrument> An instrument designed to visualise the interior of the eye, with the instrument at arm's length from the subject's eye and the observer viewing an inverted image through a convex lens located between the instrument and the subject's eye. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indirect ophthalmoscopy | Ophthalmoscopy performed with an indirect ophthalmoscope. (05 Mar 2000) |