clinical trial n a scientifically controlled study of the safety and effectiveness of a therapeutic agent (as a drug or vaccine) using consenting human subjects
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an experiment performed on human beings in order to evaluate the comparative efficacy of two or more therapies. The most reliable results are usually considered to be those from randomized controlled trials (q.v.). Well-designed trials are usually done with blinding or masking; see single blind, double blind, and triple blind.Medical dictionary. 2011.