Antibiotic: A substance derived from a microorganism used to treat disease.

Autonomy: Freedom to act independently and make one's own decisions.

Beneficence: Doing good, or performing helpful acts.

Bioethicist: One who analyzes and interprets medical ethics.

Cadaver organ: A body part, such as a kidney or liver, taken from the body of a person who recently died, for purposes of transplantation into another living person.

Chromosome: A unit of DNA, the inheritable matter found inside cells that relates to one's characteristics and functions. A normal human being has forty-six chromosomes, which are further divided into segments known as genes.

Common law: Legal rules based on court decisions and tradition (as opposed to enactments of legislatures).

Enzyme: A protein produced by cells that causes a chemical reaction in a body.

Ethicist: A person who analyzes and interprets ethical issues. Ethics are the principles and values that apply when people...