Glossary of Clinical Trial Terms
Friday, May 22nd, 2009Primary Investigator – The physician with the primary responsibility for the design and conduct of a research project or clinical trial
Clinical Trial – A carefully designed study of the effects of medication, medical treatment, or a medical device on a group of volunteer subjects.
Subject – An individual who volunteers to participate in a clinical trial.
Placebo – A chemically neutral substance given under the guise of medicine for its psychologically suggestive effect; used in a controlled clinical trial to determine whether improvement and side effects may reflect imagination or anticipation rather than the actual power of the drug.
Double-blind – When neither the investigator nor the subject knows which medication the subject will be receiving.
Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria – The specific protocol requirements such as age, medical history weight, diagnosis, and laboratory values that determine if a subject can be included in a clinical trial.












