alpha-fetoprotein Hear it!

alpha-fetoprotein definition

al·pha-fe·to·pro·tein (al′fə fēt′ō prō′tēn′, -tē in)

noun

a protein in the blood of a normal fetus, occasionally reappearing in an adult, where its presence indicates the possibility of disease or, in a pregnant woman, of fetal malformations

Etymology: alpha + feto- (var. of feti-) + protein

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.