Prenatal screening and genetics

Although the term 'genetic screening' has been used for decades, this paper discusses how, in its most precise meaning, genetic screening has not yet been widely introduced. 'Prenatal screening' is often confused with 'geneti c screening'. As we show, these terms have different meanings, and we exami ne definitions of the relevant concepts in order to illustrate this point. The concepts are i) prenatal, ii) genetic screening, iii) screening, scanni ng and testing, iv) maternal and foetal tests, v) test techniques and vi) g enetic conditions, So far, prenatal screening has little connection with pr ecisely defined genetics. There are benefits but also disadvantages in over stating current links between them in the term genetic screening. Policy ma king and professional and public understandings about screening could be cl arified if the distinct meanings of prenatal screening and genetic screenin g were more precisely observed.