Human health and medicine

Biomarker

A biomarker, or biological marker, is an objectively measured characteristic indicating healthy biological activity, disease, or response to an exposure or treatment; examples include blood glucose and blood pressure.

Biomedical materials

Biomedical Materials (ISSN 1748-6041, 1748-605X), also Biomed. Mater., is an IOP Publishing peer-reviewed hybrid open access journal founded 2006 in Bristol covering biomaterials for healthcare; Q2/Q3 JCR, indexed in PubMed, Scopus, SCIE.

Biomedical sciences

Biomedical sciences are the scientific disciplines studying living systems and disease from molecules to organisms, spanning basic, clinical, and translational research aimed at human health.

Biomedical waste

Biomedical waste, also called medical waste or clinical waste, is waste from health-care activities such as used needles, blood-contaminated dressings, body parts, pharmaceuticals, and radioactive materials; about 15% is hazardous.

Biopharmaceutical

Biopharmaceutical (biologic): a drug made in living cells, spanning monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, vaccines, and cell and gene therapies; distinct from small-molecule chemistry, with biosimilars, cold-chain needs, and a market near $452–530 billion.

Biopharmaceutics Classification System

The Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS), introduced by Gordon Amidon and colleagues in 1995, sorts drugs into four classes by solubility and permeability, and the FDA adopted it in 2000 to waive bioequivalence testing.

Biophysical profile

The biophysical profile, or fetal biophysical profile, is a prenatal surveillance test combining ultrasound with a nonstress test, scoring five fetal variables for a total of 0 to 10.

BIOPOLIO

BIOPOLIO: WHO-prequalified oral polio vaccines (trivalent OPV and bivalent BIOPOLIO B1/3, Sabin types 1 and 3) made by Bharat Biotech, India, from Bio Farma bulk; 20-dose vials, stored at -20°C.

BIOPOLIO B1/3

BIOPOLIO B1/3 is Bharat Biotech's WHO-prequalified bivalent oral polio vaccine (Sabin types 1 and 3), filled from Bio Farma bulks, 6.0/5.8 CCID50 per 0.1 mL dose, stored at -20°C, prequalified 25 August 2017.

Bioprosthesis

Bioprosthesis: an implant, usually a heart valve, made of biological tissue (porcine, bovine pericardial, homograft) stabilized with glutaraldehyde; avoids lifelong anticoagulation but degenerates, needing reoperation more often than mechanical valves.

Biopsy

Biopsy: removal of body cells or tissue (incisional, excisional, needle, core) for pathologist examination, the definitive test for cancer; complemented by minimally invasive liquid biopsy of blood or urine for tumor DNA analysis.

Bioresonance Therapy

Bioresonance therapy, also called MORA therapy or electrodermal testing, is an unproven complementary-medicine method using electromagnetic waves to diagnose and treat disease; controlled trials and regulators find no supporting evidence.

Biosimilar

Biosimilar: a biological medicine highly similar to an approved reference product with no clinically meaningful differences. First approved in the EU in 2006 (Omnitrope), first U.S. approval 2015; $56 billion U.S. savings since 2015.

Biotest AG

Biotest AG, now Biotest GmbH & Co. KGaA, is a German plasma-products company based in Dreieich, Germany, founded in 1946 and a subsidiary of Spain's Grifols since 2022.

Biotin

Biotin (vitamin B7, vitamin H) is a water-soluble B vitamin and coenzyme for five carboxylases in fat, glucose, and amino acid metabolism. AI 30 µg/day, no upper limit; deficiency rare; high doses interfere with lab immunoassays.

Oct 20, 2026

Biotin deficiency

Biotin deficiency (vitamin B7 deficiency), including biotinidase deficiency, causes hair loss, rash, and neurologic symptoms; caused by raw egg whites, TPN, anticonvulsants, or inherited BTD defects.

Biotin-thiamine-responsive basal ganglia disease

Biotin-thiamine-responsive basal ganglia disease (BTBGD), also called thiamine transporter-2 deficiency, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder from SLC19A3 mutations, causing episodic encephalopathy and movement problems in childhood, reversible with high-dose biotin and thiamine.

BioTrack trial

BioTrack (NCT03104387) is a Danish controlled crossover trial in which 29 healthy volunteers rode diesel versus electric trains 6 hours daily for three days, showing reduced lung function, increased PBMC DNA strand breaks, and altered heart rate variability.

BioVasc trial

BIOVASC (NCT03621501) trial: randomized 1,525 ACS patients with multivessel disease to immediate versus staged complete revascularization; immediate was non-inferior at 1 year (7.6% vs 9.4%) with fewer MIs and unplanned revascularizations.

Bipartite talus

Bipartite talus (talus bipartitus) is a rare congenital anomaly of two non-fused talar fragments at the posterior talar process, causing adolescent ankle pain; treated by fixation, excision, or fusion.

Biperiden

Biperiden (Akineton) is a centrally acting, M1-selective antimuscarinic drug used for parkinsonism, neuroleptic-induced extrapyramidal symptoms, and as a cognitive challenge model in research; typical oral dose 2 mg 1-3 times daily.

Biphasic cuirass ventilation

Biphasic cuirass ventilation (BCV) is a noninvasive ventilation technique in which a rigid chest shell delivers alternating negative and positive pressures to ventilate the lungs.

Bipolar disorders

Bipolar disorders, formerly manic depression, are recurrent mood disorders with manic, hypomanic, and depressive episodes. About 36 million people worldwide; bipolar I and II types; treated with mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and psychotherapy.

Bipolar hemiarthroplasty

Bipolar hemiarthroplasty is a hip operation that replaces the femoral head with a two-bearing prosthesis, used mainly for displaced femoral neck fractures and designed to reduce acetabular erosion.

Bipolar I disorder

Bipolar I disorder (manic-depressive illness, BD-I) is a mood disorder defined by manic episodes lasting 7 days or requiring hospitalization, with depressive episodes; about 70% of mania cases have psychotic symptoms and lithium is first-line maintenance treatment.

Bipolar II disorder

Bipolar II disorder (BD-II): a bipolar disorder subtype defined by at least one hypomanic episode and one major depressive episode with no mania; depression dominates (39:1), suicide risk matches bipolar I, and it is often misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder.