[Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in clinical diagnosis. Review of the use of the technique].

The use in clinical diagnosis of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique is reviewed. This method consists of the amplification of a single molecule of DNA (50 to 2000 base pairs in length) to more than a million copies of DNA in a few hours. Relevant advantages of this technique are its specificity, sensitivity and ability to amplify impure DNA. Diagnostic methods for diagnosis of infectious diseases and genetic disorders in humans have been developed recently.