Anemia:  A medical condition caused by low concentrations of red blood cells and hemoglobin resulting in a reduced oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.

Bloodless surgery:  Any surgery performed with out the use of transfused blood.

Dialysis:  A blood cleaning/filtering process performed on individuals with failing kidneys.

DNA ligase:  An enzyme capable of repairing breaks in the DNA backbone by forming the phosphodiesterbond that is placed between the 5' phosphate and the 3'OH group of ribose.

Expression vector:  A cloning vector that contains regulatory sequences that promote transcription and translation of a cloned gene.

Glycoprotein:  A category of macromolecules in which a single polysaccharide or group of polysaccharides are combined with a protein.

Hematocrit:  The portion of blood volume consisting only of red blood cells.

Hemoglobin:  A protein complex found in red blood cells, composed of two proteins (alpha and beta) that bind molecular oxygen for transport through out the body.

Hypoxia:  A physiological condition where the body's requirements for oxygen are not satisfied.

Plasmid:  Extrachromosomal genetic material that is not essential for growth and has no extracellular form.

Recombinant DNA:  A molecule of DNA consisting of DNA originating from two or more sources.

Restriction enzyme:  Enzymes that are capable of recognizing and cleaving specific DNA sequences (usually 4, 6 or 8 bases in length) that result in a single-stranded end.  Over 2000 restriction enzymes, with over 200 restriction sites, are known.