alpha-fetoprotein

[al-fuh-fee-toh-proh-teen, -tee-in]

noun Biochemistry.

a serum protein produced during pregnancy, useful in the prenatal diagnosis of multiple births or birth defects. Abbreviation: AFP

Origin of alpha-fetoprotein

First recorded in 1970–75; alpha + fet(us) + -o- + protein

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for alpha-fetoprotein

alpha-fetoprotein

noun

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

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 in Medicine

alpha-fetoprotein

n.

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.

alpha-fetoprotein in Science

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.