| zygote intra-fallopian transfer | <gynaecology> In vitro fertilization with a transfer of the zygote into the fallopian tube, a combination of in vitro fertilization and gamete intra-fallopian transfer. An assisted reproduction technique consisting of hormonal stimulation of the ovaries, laparoscopic follicular aspiration of oocytes, in-vitro fertilization, and intra-fallopian transfer of the zygote by transabdominal cannulation at the pronuclear stage (before cleavage). Acronym: ZIFT (12 Dec 1998) |
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| 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) |
| gel diffusion precipitin tests | Precipitin test's in which the immune precipitate forms in a gel medium (usually agar) into which one or both reactants have diffused; generally classified in two types, in one dimension, and in two dimensions. Synonym: gel diffusion reactions. (05 Mar 2000) |
| gel diffusion precipitin tests in one dimension | Precipitin test's in which antigen solution and antibody incorporated in agar are layered in tubes, permitting effective diffusion in the vertical dimension; the antibody-containing agar may be overlaid directly with antigen solution (single (gel) diffusion in one dimension). (05 Mar 2000) |
| gel diffusion precipitin tests in two dimensions | Precipitin test's made in a layer of agar that permits radial diffusion, in both of the horizontal dimensions, of one or both reactants. Double (gel) diffusion in two dimensions (Ouchterlony test, technique, or method) incorporates antigen and antibody solutions placed in separate wells in a sheet of plain agar, permitting radial diffusion of both reactants; this method is widely used to determine antigenic relationships; the bands of precipitate that form where the reactants meet in optimal concentration are of three patterns, referred to as reaction of identity, reaction of partial identity (cross-reaction), and reaction of nonidentity. (05 Mar 2000) |
| patch tests | Skin tests in which the sensitiser is applied to a patch of cotton cloth or gauze held in place for approximately 48-72 hours. It is used for the elicitation of a contact hypersensitivity reaction. (12 Dec 1998) |