| 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) |
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| 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) |
| Rothera's nitroprusside test | A test for ketone bodies; 5 ml of fresh urine are saturated with solid ammonium sulfate and mixed with 10 drops of freshly prepared 2% sodium nitroprusside solution, which is then mixed with 10 drops of concentrated ammonia water and allowed to stand for 15 min; the presence of acetoacetic acid, or of larger concentrations of acetone, is indicated by the development of a blue-purple colour. (05 Mar 2000) |
| phenolsulfonphthalein test | An obsolete test for renal function; after the patient has drunk a glass or two of water, 1 ml of a 0.6% solution of dye is injected hypodermically; the time between this injection and the appearance of a pink tinge in the urine as it falls into an alkaline solution is noted; the amount excreted in each of the next 2 hours is then estimated colourimetrically. Synonym: Geraghty's test, phthalein test, red test, Rowntree and Geraghty test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| phentolamine test | A test for pheochromocytoma; intravenous administration of phentolamine (5 mg) reduces hypertension due to a pheochromocytoma but not that due to other causes, e.g., essential hypertension; the blood pressure is raised by the drug in the latter form of hypertension. (05 Mar 2000) |
| microhemagglutination-Treponema pallidum test | A microtiter version of the Treponema pallidum haemagglutination test. Synonym: MHA-TP test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Rowntree and Geraghty test | An obsolete test for renal function; after the patient has drunk a glass or two of water, 1 ml of a 0.6% solution of dye is injected hypodermically; the time between this injection and the appearance of a pink tinge in the urine as it falls into an alkaline solution is noted; the amount excreted in each of the next 2 hours is then estimated colourimetrically. Synonym: Geraghty's test, phthalein test, red test, Rowntree and Geraghty test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| RPR test | A group of serologic test's for syphilis in which unheated serum or plasma is reacted with a standard test antigen containing charcoal particles; positive test's yield a flocculation. A modification, called the RPR (circle) card test, is widely used as a screening test. Synonym: RPR test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| RSV test | <investigation> A blood test which measures the levels of immunoglobulins IgG and IgM against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). (17 Dec 1997) |
| rubella HI test | A haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test for rubella, often performed routinely as part of a prenatal workup of the pregnant woman; the presence of any detectable HI titre in the absence of disease indicates previous infection and immunity to reinfection; if HI antibody is undetected, the patient is considered potentially susceptible and is followed accordingly. See: haemagglutination inhibition. (05 Mar 2000) |