serological test
serological test, any of several laboratory procedures carried out on a sample of blood serum (the clear liquid that separates from the blood when it is allowed to clot) for the purpose of detecting antibodies or antibody-like substances that appear specifically in association with certain diseases. There are different types of serological tests—for example, flocculation tests, neutralization tests, hemagglutinin-inhibition tests, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), and chemiluminescence immunoassays. Among flocculation tests, complement-fixation tests are the most common. These are based on the precipitation, or flocculation, that takes place when an antibody and specially prepared antigens (substances that provoke antibody production in ...(100 of 302 words)