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Definition: rhesus factor from Philip's Encyclopedia

(Rh factor) Any of a group of antigens found on the surface of erythrocytes (red blood cells). Rh-negative (Rh-) blood lacks the rhesus factor. Rh factor is present in c.85% of humans (Rh+). Rh incompatibility (an Rh- pregnant woman with an Rh+ fetus) can give rise to anaemia in newborn babies. The antigens were first identified in the blood of rhesus monkeys.

Rh factor

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
protein substance present in the red blood cells of most people, capable of inducing intense antigenic reactions. The Rh, or rhesus, factor was discovered in 1940 by K. Landsteiner and A. S. Wiener, when they observed that an injection of blood from a rhesus monkey into rabbits caused an antigenic reaction in the serum component of rabbit blood (see immunity ). When blood from humans was tested with the rabbit serum, the red blood cells of 85% of the humans tested agglutinated (clumped together). The red blood cells of the 85% (later found to be 85% of the white population and a larger percentage of blacks and Asians) contained the same factor present in rhesus monkey blood; such blood was typed Rh positive. The blood of the remaining 15% lacked the factor and was typed Rh negative. Under ordinary circumstances, the presence or lack of the Rh factor has no bearing on life or health. It is only when the two blood types are mingled in an Rh-negative individual that the difficulty arises, …
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Full text Article Rh Factor

From Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Rh Factor
Rh (Rhesus) factor is a blood protein that plays a critical role in some pregnancies. People without Rh factor are known as Rh negative, while people with the Rh factor are Rh positive. If a woman who is Rh negative is pregnant with a fetus who is Rh positive, her body may make antibodies against…
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Full text Article Rh factor

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
protein substance present in the red blood cells of most people, capable of inducing intense antigenic reactions. The Rh, or rhesus, factor was discovered in 1940 by K. Landsteiner and A. S. Wiener, when they observed that an injection of blood from a rhesus monkey into rabbits caused an antigenic…
| 409 words
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Full text Article Rh Factor Incompatibility

From Encyclopedia of Special Education: A Reference for the Education of Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Disabilities and Other Exceptional Individuals
Rh factor incompatibility (erythroblastosis fetalis) results from an antigen-antibody reaction with destruction of the fetal red blood cells ( Sherwen, Scoloveno, & Weingarten ,). The most lethal form of Rh factor incompatibility is erythroblastosis fetalis. Generally defined, erythroblastosis…
| 454 words
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Full text Article Rh Factor and Rh System

From Brenner's Encyclopedia of Genetics
A diagram of Rh antigen system and Rh...
Abstract Rh factor refers to the D antigen on the erythrocyte membrane, the first antigen identified as belonging to the human Rh blood group system. It is so named because of anti-Rh, an antibody made in rabbits when injected with rhesus monkey blood. Over seven decades of studies have unveiled a…
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Full text Article Rh factor

From The American Heritage Student Science Dictionary
| 88 words
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Full text Article Rh factor

From The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin
| 70 words
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Full text Article Rh factor

From The Macquarie Dictionary
| 57 words
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Full text Article Rh factor

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
| 28 words
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Full text Article Rh factor

From The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology
| 5 words
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Full text Article Rh factor

From Collins English Dictionary
| 47 words
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