gnotobiotic
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gno·to·bi·ot·ic
(nō'tō-bī-ot'ik),Denoting germ-free or formerly germ-free organisms in which the composition of any associated microbial flora, if present, is fully defined.
[see gnotobiota]
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
gnotobiotic
Biologyadjective Referring to a system to which only preselected components, organisms and nutrients are introduced. Gnotobiotic organisms are either experimental models (e.g., mice with naïve immune systems), or “experiments of nature”, in which the natural immune defence is grossly defective (e.g., severe combined immune deficiency); prolonged survival of the host requires complete avoidance of exposure to pathogens.
Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
gno·to·bi·ot·ic
(nō'tō-bī-ot'ik)Denoting germ-free or formerly germ-free organisms in which the composition of any associated microbial flora, if present, is fully defined.
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012
gnotobiotic
literally ‘known life’; typically referring to an environment or animal that is essentially germ-(microorganism-) free, or one in which the microbial flora present is known, usually because it has been deliberately introduced.Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005