Glossary

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B

Benign
Not malignant, usually without serious consequences.

Bias
In general, any factor that distorts the true nature of an event or observation.

Bioavailability
The extent to which a drug or other substance becomes available to the body.

Biological warfare agents
Living organisms (disease germs) or their toxic/poisonous products used as offensive weapons in war.

Birth defects
Abnormalities in anatomy or function of body parts present at birth, whether or not they are detectable at the time of birth.

Blinding
The concealment of group assignment (to either the treatment or control group) from the knowledge of patients and/or investigators in a clinical trial. Blinding eliminates the possibility that knowledge of assignment may affect patient response to treatment or investigator behaviors that may affect outcomes. A single-blind trial is one in which knowledge of group assignment is withheld only from patients; a double-blind trial is one in which the knowledge is withheld from both patients and investigators.

Botulism
An illness caused by a potent bacterial toxin/poison (produced by Clostridium botulinum) which causes muscle weakness or paralysis.

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