| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 3,900,513,744 visitors served. |
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
genetic screening |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal | 0.01 sec. |
|
|
genetic screening, testing for genetic disorders. Most commonly, prospective parents or an embryo or fetus is tested when a specific genetic disorder is suspected (e.g., Tay-Sachs Tay-Sachs disease , rare hereditary disease caused by a genetic mutation that leaves the body unable to produce an enzyme necessary for fat metabolism in nerve cells, producing central nervous system degeneration.
..... Click the link for more information. or sickle cell disease sickle cell disease or sickle cell anemia, inherited disorder of the blood in which the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin pigment in erythrocytes (red blood cells) is abnormal. ..... Click the link for more information. ). In such a case, genetic screening begins with a complete medical history of both parents. If the parents decide to conceive or have already conceived, diagnostic tests, such as chorionic villus sampling chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or chorionic villus biopsy (CVB) , diagnostic procedure in which a sample of chorionic villi from the developing placenta is removed from the uterus of a pregnant woman (see pregnancy) using a fine needle inserted ..... Click the link for more information. and amniocentesis amniocentesis , diagnostic procedure in which a sample of the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus is removed from the uterus by means of a fine needle inserted through the abdomen of the pregnant woman (see pregnancy). ..... Click the link for more information. , can be performed on the fetus to detect various genetic disorders. In the case of a positive finding, the parents can elect to abort the fetus. Embryo biopsy embryo biopsy or preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), diagnostic procedure, used in genetic screening, in which a single cell is removed from an embryo two or three days after it has been conceived through in vitro fertilization. ..... Click the link for more information. , another diagnostic test, can be used on an embryo conceived by in vitro fertilization in vitro fertilization , technique for conception of a human embryo outside the mother's body. Several ova, or eggs, are removed from the mother's body and placed in special laboratory culture dishes (Petri dishes); sperm from the father are then added, or in many ..... Click the link for more information. to determine if the embryo is free of certain genetic diseases before it is implanted in the uterus. As researchers identify more genetic markers for diseases and develop blood tests for them, concern has arisen over the use of such tests to deny people health and life insurance, employment, and the like. A 1993 National Academy of Sciences report called for the establishment of ethical guidelines on the use of genetic screening, and in 1995 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said that the use of genetic screening to deny employment could violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. See also eugenics eugenics , study of human genetics and of methods to improve the inherited characteristics, physical and mental, of the human race. Efforts to improve the human race through bettering housing facilities and other environmental conditions are known as euthenics. BibliographySee G. Evars-Kiebooms, Genetic Risk, Risk Perception, and Decision (1987). Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup |
|---|