| specific action | The action of a drug or a method of treatment which has a direct and especially curative effect upon a disease, e.g., the action of vitamin B12 in pernicious anaemia. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| specific dynamic action | The increase of heat production caused by the ingestion of food, especially of protein. (05 Mar 2000) |
| delayed-action preparations | Dosage forms of a drug that act over a period of time. (12 Dec 1998) |
| thermogenic action | Increase of heat production of the body, as by the thyroid hormone. Synonym: thermogenic action. (05 Mar 2000) |
| law of mass action | <chemistry> This law states that the rate of a given chemical reaction is proportional to concentration of the reactants. (09 Oct 1997) |
| calorimetry, indirect | Calculation of the energy expenditure in the form of heat production of the whole body or individual organs based on respiratory gas exchange. (12 Dec 1998) |
| indirect | 1. Not immediate or straight. 2. Acting through an intermediary agent. Origin: L. Indirectus (18 Nov 1997) |
| 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) |
| 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) |