Alpha-fetoprotein
a serum produced during pregnancy, useful in the prenatal diagnosis of multiple births or birth defects.
abbreviation: afp.
noun
a protein that forms in the liver of the human fetus. excessive quant-ties in the amniotic fluid and maternal blood may indicate spina bifida in the fetus; low levels may point to down’s syndrome afp
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
(āl’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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