Library / English Dictionary

NONSPECIFIC

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Not caused by a specific agent; used also of staining in making microscope slides

Example:

nonspecific enteritis

Classified under:

Adjectives

Domain category:

medical specialty; medicine (the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques)

pathology (the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases)

Antonym:

specific ((sometimes followed by 'to') applying to or characterized by or distinguishing something particular or special or unique)

specific (being or affecting a disease produced by a particular microorganism or condition; used also of stains or dyes used in making microscope slides)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Nonspecific esterase stains with acetate substrate and is mainly used in the determination of lineage in acute myelogenous leukemia.

(Alpha Naphthyl Acetate Esterase Staining Method, NCI Thesaurus)

A nonspecific monoclonal antibody Fab fragment for murine leukemia virus (MuLV) 1.4.

(Monoclonal Antibody 1.4 F(ab), NCI Thesaurus)

Ormaplatin alkylates DNA, forming both inter- and intra-strand platinum-DNA crosslinks, which result in inhibition of DNA replication and transcription and cell-cycle nonspecific cytotoxicity.

(Ormaplatin, NCI Thesaurus)

This allele, which encodes alkaline phosphatase, tissue-nonspecific isozyme protein, may be involved in matrix mineralization.

(ALPL wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

Host Defenses against pathology include physical barriers to pathogens, immediate nonspecific and constitutive (innate) defenses, specific inducible immune responses, metabolic and physiologic homeostatic mechanisms, detoxification, repair processes, and healing mechanisms.

(Host Defense, NCI Thesaurus)

The complement system is a proteolytic cascade in blood plasma and a mediator of innate immunity, a nonspecific defense mechanism against pathogens.

(Complement and Coagulation Cascade, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

A cytochemical staining technique using the alpha-naphthyl esterase staining method or a nonspecific esterase staining method to identify and quantify monoblasts and monocytes and to detect esterase activity.

(Alpha Naphthyl Esterase Staining Method, NCI Thesaurus)

A peptide vaccine containing the human tumor-associated antigen epithelial mucin (MUC1 antigen) conjugated with keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and combined with the nonspecific immunoadjuvant QS21, with potential antineoplastic activity.

(MUC1-KLH Vaccine/QS21, NCI Thesaurus)

Variation of the polymerase chain reaction used to identify differentially expressed genes. mRNA from two different tissue samples is reverse transcribed, then amplified using short, intentionally nonspecific primers.

(Differential Display, NCI Thesaurus)

In the body methenamine is converted to formaldehyde, a nonspecific bactericidal agent.

(Methenamine, NCI Thesaurus)