Medical term:

artefact

artifact

[ahr´tĭ-fakt]

1. any artificial product; a structure or appearance that is not natural, but is due to manipulation.

2. distortion or fuzziness of an image caused by manipulation, such as during compression of a digital file.

film artifact artificial images on x-ray films due to storage, handling, or processing.

phantom artifact artificial images seen with conventional tomography.

standardization artifact an electrical stimulus of 1 mV deliberately introduced into the electrocardiogram so that pulse amplitudes on the tracing can be adjusted to 10 mm. The amplitudes of the P, QRS, and T intervals can be accurately evaluated only on an electrocardiogram thus standardized.

ar·ti·fact

(ar'ti-fakt),

1. Anything, especially in a histologic specimen or a graphic record, which is caused by the technique used and does not reflect the original specimen or experiment.

2. A skin lesion produced or perpetuated by self-inflicted action, as in dermatitis artefacta.

Synonym(s): artefact

[L. ars, art, + facio, pp. factus, to make]

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

artefact

(är′tə-făkt′)

Variant of artifact.

artefact

(1) A structure not normally present, but produced by some external action; something artificial.
(2) The distortion of a substance or signal which interferes with or obscures the interpretation of a study, or a structure that is not representative of a specimen’s in vivo state, or which does not reflect the original sample, but rather is the result of an isolation procedure, its handling or other factors. Artefacts in electronic readout devices (e.g., EEG, EKG, and EMG) may be due to loose leads or electrical contacts.

Cardiology
An electrical impulse of noncardiac origin which is recorded as a vertical spike on an EKG or other ECG monitor (e.g., a pacemaker pulse); electrical signals from muscle contractions, or myopotentials, are called muscle artefacts.

Histology
Any change in tissue that occurs during tissue processing which may alter a tissue’s appearance and possibly the diagnosis.

Imaging
The artefact seen depends on the procedure. For example, in a barium enema, where zones of inconstant segmental contractions of the colon may be confused with organic constrictions or anatomic variations due to mucosal or intramural tumours, or a metal surgical clip that obscures an anatomical structure.

ar·ti·fact

(ahr'ti-fakt)

1. Anything (especially in a histologic specimen or a graphic record) that is caused by the technique used or is not a natural occurrence but is merely incidental.

2. A skin lesion produced or perpetuated by self-inflicted action, such as scratching in dermatitis artefacta.
Synonym(s): artefact.

[L. ars, art, + facio, pp. factus, to make]

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

artefact

something that appears during preparation or examination of material which is not present in the natural state. Two scientists from the University of Surrey, Harold Hillman and Peter Sartory, have suggested on the evidence provided by solid geometry, that some structures described by electron microscopy, e.g. Golgi apparatus, nuclear pores, endoplasmic reticulum, are artefacts of the preparation of material.

Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005

artefact

Anything made or introduced artificially which misleads the results of an investigation, image or test. Example: in visual evoked cortical potentials, any wave that has its origin elsewhere than in the visual area.

ar·ti·fact

, artefact (ahr'ti-fakt)

Anything, especially in a histologic specimen or a graphic record or x-ray, caused by the technique used that does not reflect the original specimen or experiment.

[L. ars, art, + facio, pp. factus, to make]

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artefact

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