thymol turbidity

thymol turbidity, laboratory test for the nonspecific measurement of globulins, a group of blood proteins that appear in abnormally high concentration in association with a wide variety of diseased states, notably those affecting the liver. The test consists of adding 1 volume of blood serum to 60 volumes of a buffer supersaturated with thymol; the thymol–globulin interaction results in turbidity, the degree of which varies with the concentration of globulins. High turbidity is observed in approximately 80 to 90 percent of individuals with acute viral hepatitis and in 20 to 70 percent of those with cirrhosis. The test is also useful in the differential diagnosis of the two main types of jaundice. Today, thymol turbidity is rarely used. Techniques that are capable of distinguishing between the different types of globulins and other blood proteins are used instead.