specificity

Pronunciation: spes′i-fis′i-tē

Definition:

1. The condition or state of being specific, of having a fixed relation to a single cause or to a definite result; manifested in the relation of a disease to its pathogenic microorganism, of a reaction to a certain chemical union, or of an antibody to its antigen, or the reverse.
2. In clinical pathology and medical screening, the proportion of those tested with negative test results for the disease that the test is intended to reveal, true negative results as a proportion of the total of true-negative and false-positive results.

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