- Serum
- The clear liquid that can be separated from clotted blood. Serum differs from plasma, the liquid portion of normal unclotted blood containing the red and white cells and platelets. It is the clot that makes the difference between serum and plasma. Terms in this dictionary with the word "serum" include maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP), serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), and serum hepatitis. The term "serum" also is used to designate any normal or pathological fluid that resembles serum as, for example, the fluid in a blister. "Serum" is a Latin word that refers to the "whey", the watery liquid that separates from the curds in the process of cheesemaking.
* * *1. A clear, watery fluid, especially that moistening the surface of serous membranes, or exuded in inflammation of any of those membranes. 2. The fluid portion of the blood obtained after removal of the fibrin clot and blood cells, distinguished from the plasma in circulating blood. Sometimes used as a synonym for antiserum or antitoxin. [L. whey]- anticomplementary s. s. that destroys or inactivates complement.- antilymphocyte s. (ALS) antiserum against lymphocytes, used to suppress rejection of grafts or organ transplants; when used in man, the globulin fraction of the heterologous s. (prepared in horse or other animals) is usually used in conjunction with other immunosuppressive agents (drugs or chemicals) and for a limited period of time. SYN: antilymphocyte globulin.- antirabies s. a sterile solution containing antibodies obtained from the blood s. or plasma of a healthy animal, or human, that has been immunized against rabies by means of vaccine; administered immediately after severe or multiple bites by domestic animals suspected to be rabid and in all wild animal bites, to be followed by a regimen of rabies vaccine.- bacteriolytic s. an antiserum (bacteriolysin) that sensitizes a bacterium to the lytic action of complement.- blood s. s. (2).- convalescent s. s. from patients recently recovered from a disease; useful for diagnosis by demonstrating a fourfold increase in specific antibodies or in preventing or modifying by passive immunization the same disease in exposed susceptible individuals.- Coombs s. SYN: antihuman globulin.- dried human s. s. prepared by drying liquid human s. by freeze-drying or by any other method that will avoid denaturation of the proteins and will yield a product readily soluble in a quantity of water equal to the volume of liquid human s. from which it was prepared.- foreign s. a s. derived from an animal and injected into an animal of another species or into humans.- human s. dried human s., normal human s..- human measles immune s. obtained from the blood of a healthy person who has survived an attack of measles. SYN: measles convalescent s..- human pertussis immune s. the sterile s. prepared from the pooled blood of healthy adult human beings who have received repeated courses of phase I pertussis vaccine; administered intravenously or intramuscularly for the prophylaxis or treatment of whooping cough.- human scarlet fever immune s. scarlet fever convalescent s., obtained from healthy persons who have survived an attack of scarlet fever.- inactivated s. s. that has been heated to 56°C for 30 min to destroy the lytic activity of complement.- s. lactis SYN: whey.- liquid human s. the pool of fluids separated from blood withdrawn from human subjects and allowed to clot in the absence of any anticoagulant; not more than 10 separate donations are pooled; the contributions from donors of A, O, and either B or AB groups are represented in approximately the ratio 9:9:2.- muscle s. the fluid remaining after the coagulation of muscle plasma and the separation of myosin.- nonimmune s. a s. from a subject that is not immune; a s. that is free of antibodies to a given antigen.- normal human s. sterile s. obtained by pooling approximately equal amounts of the liquid portion of coagulated whole blood from eight or more persons who are free from any disease transmissible by transfusion.- polyvalent s. an antiserum obtained by inoculating an animal with several different antigens or species or strains of bacteria.- salted s. SYN: salted plasma.- specific s. a monovalent antiserum, i.e., one obtained by inoculating an animal with one antigen or species or strain of bacteria.- thyrotoxic s. an antiserum obtained by injecting into animals the nucleoproteins of the thyroid gland.- truth s. colloquialism for a drug, such as amobarbital sodium or thiopental sodium, intravenously injected with scopolamine for the purpose of eliciting information from the subject under its influence; a misnomer because the subject's revelations may or may not be factually true, and its legal status and use is questionable.
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se·rum 'sir-əm n, pl se·ra -ə or serums the watery portion of an animal fluid remaining after coagulation:a ) (1) the clear yellowish fluid that remains from blood plasma after fibrinogen, prothrombin, and other clotting factors have been removed by clot formation called also blood serum (2) ANTISERUMb) a normal or pathological serous fluid (as in a blister)serum adj occurring or found in the serum of the blood <\serum cholesterol> <\serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transminase>* * *
n.the fluid that separates from clotted blood or blood plasma that is allowed to stand. Serum is essentially similar in composition to plasma but lacks fibrinogen and other substances that are used in the coagulation process.* * *
se·rum (sērґəm) pl. serums, seґra [L. “wheyâ€] 1. the clear portion of any body fluid; the clear fluid moistening serous membranes. 2. blood s. 3. antiserum.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
