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AIDS, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, fatal disease caused by a rapidly mutating retrovirus that attacks the immune system and leaves the victim vulnerable to infections, malignancies, and neuro...

aids, in feudalism

(Encyclopedia)aids, in feudalism, type of feudal due paid by a vassal to his suzerain (overlord). Aids varied with time and place, although in English-speaking countries aids were traditionally due on the knighting...

coma, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)coma, in medicine, deep state of unconsciousness from which a person cannot be aroused even by painful stimuli. The patient cannot speak and does not respond to command. Coma is the result of damage t...

thrush , in medicine

(Encyclopedia)thrush, in medicine, infection caused by the fungus Candida albicans, manifested by white, slightly raised patches on the mucous membrane of the tongue, mouth, and throat. The mucous membrane beneath ...

walleye, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)walleye: see strabismus.

cancer, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)cancer, in medicine, common term for neoplasms, or tumors, that are malignant. Like benign tumors, malignant tumors do not respond to body mechanisms that limit cell growth. Unlike benign tumors, mali...

medicine

(Encyclopedia)medicine, the science and art of treating and preventing disease. Modern medicine, characterized by growing specialization and a complex diagnostic and therapeutic technology, faces problems in the...

Medicine Hat

(Encyclopedia)Medicine Hat, city (1991 pop. 43,625), SE Alta., Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. It is the center of a farming and ranching area with valuable natural-gas deposits that have been exploited fo...

medicine man

(Encyclopedia)medicine man, among Native Americans and other traditional peoples as far back as Paleolithic times, a person believed to possess supernatural healing powers. Like the shaman the medicine man was a sp...

herbal medicine

(Encyclopedia)herbal medicine, use of natural plant substances (botanicals) to treat and prevent illness. The practice has existed since prehistoric times and flourishes today as the primary form of medicine for pe...