| |
valence
(vaŽlens)
a positive number that represents the combining power of an element in a chemical compound (the number of bonds each atom
of that element makes with other atoms in the compound). In this sense, “valence” has been superseded by the concept “oxidation number.” However, “valence” is still used to indicate (1) the number of covalent bonds formed by an atom in a covalent compound
or (2) the charge on a compound whose molecules have one atom or several atoms.
in immunology, the number of antigen binding sites that an antibody molecule has (two per immunoglobulin monomer), or the number of antigenic determinants that an antigen has (usually a large number).
Copyright 2007. An Elsevier publication. All rights reserved.
Click here for important legal information about Dorland's Medical Dictionary.
|
