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iron lung

(Encyclopedia)iron lung, device used to maintain artificial respiration over an extended period of time. Before the successful vaccination program against poliomyelitis, it was used mostly in treatment of that dise...

spastic paralysis

(Encyclopedia)spastic paralysis, form of paralysis in which the part of the nervous system that controls coordinated movement of the voluntary muscles is disabled. In spastic paralysis the nerves controlling muscle...

intercolumniation

(Encyclopedia)intercolumniation ĭnˌtərkəlŭmˌnēāˈshən [key], in classical architecture, the clear space between the edges of two adjacent columns, as measured at the lower portion of their shafts. Vitruviu...

hunchback

(Encyclopedia)hunchback, abnormal outward curvature of the spine in the thoracic region. It is also known as kyphosis and humpback, and in its severe form a noticeable hump is evident on the back. Hunchback may be ...

oriel

(Encyclopedia)oriel ôrˈēəl [key], projecting or bay window in an upper story, supported on brackets, corbels, or an engaged column, usually polygonal or curved in plan. It is most characteristic of the late med...

Pfister, Albrecht

(Encyclopedia)Pfister, Albrecht älˈbrĕkht pfĭsˈtər [key], c.1420–c.1470, printer, of Bamberg, Bavaria. He is believed to have been the first to print illustrated books (c.1460) and to have been the printer ...

harmonic

(Encyclopedia)harmonic. 1 Physical term describing the vibration in segments of a sound-producing body (see sound). A string vibrates simultaneously in its whole length and in segments of halves, thirds, fourths, e...

periodic table

(Encyclopedia)CE5 periodic table, chart of the elements arranged according to the periodic law discovered by Dmitri I. Mendeleev and revised by Henry G. J. Moseley. In the periodic table the elements are arrange...

chapter house

(Encyclopedia)chapter house, a building in which the chapter of the clergy meets. Its plan varies, the simplest being a rectangle. At Worcester, England, the Norman builders created a circular chapter house (c.1100...

Post, Emily Price

(Encyclopedia)Post, Emily Price, 1872–1960, American authority on etiquette, b. Baltimore. Born into a wealthy family, Post began her literary career as a novelist. Her best-known book, however, is Etiquette (192...