alpha-fetoprotein
[al-fuh-fee-toh-proh-teen, -tee-in]
- a serum protein produced during pregnancy, useful in the prenatal diagnosis of multiple births or birth defects. Abbreviation: AFP
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Origin of alpha-fetoprotein
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
alpha-fetoprotein
- a protein that forms in the liver of the human fetus. Excessive quantities in the amniotic fluid and maternal blood may indicate spina bifida in the fetus; low levels may point to Down's syndromeAbbreviation: afp
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
alpha-fetoprotein
- An antigen produced in the fetal liver that can appear in certain diseases of adults, such as liver cancer, and whose level in amniotic fluid can be used to detect certain fetal abnormalities, including Down syndrome and spina bifida.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
alpha-fetoprotein
[ăl′fə-fē′tō-prō′tēn]
- An antigen produced in the liver of a fetus that can appear in certain diseases of adults, such as liver cancer. Its level in amniotic fluid can be used in the detection of certain fetal abnormalities, including Down syndrome and spina bifida.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.