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mercury poisoning

(Encyclopedia)mercury poisoning, tissue damage resulting from exposure to more than trace amounts of the element mercury or its compounds. Elemental mercury (the silver liquid familiar from thermometers) is the mos...

metabolite

(Encyclopedia)metabolite, organic compound that is a starting material in, an intermediate in, or an end product of metabolism. Starting materials are substances, usually small and of simple structure, absorbed by ...

Mexico, country, North America

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Mexico both: māˈhēkō [key], officially United Mexican States, republic (2015 est. pop. 125,891,000), 753,665 sq mi (1,952,500 sq km), S North America. It borders on the United States in the...

microprocessor

(Encyclopedia)microprocessor, integrated circuit containing the arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry required to interpret and execute instructions from a computer program. When combined with other integrated c...

minority

(Encyclopedia)minority, in international law, population group with a characteristic culture and sense of identity occupying a subordinate political status. Religious minorities were known from ancient times, but e...

Missouri, state, United States

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Missouri mĭzo͝orˈē, –ə [key], one of the midwestern states of the United States. It is bordered by Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee, across the Mississippi River (E), Arkansas (S), Okla...

mole, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)mole, in zoology, common name for the small, burrowing, insectivorous mammals of the family Talpidae, found throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Moles are trapped as pests, although they prob...

mononucleosis, infectious

(Encyclopedia)mononucleosis, infectious mŏnˌəno͞oˌklēōˈsĭs [key], acute infectious disease of older children and young adults, occurring sporadically or in epidemic form, also known as mono, glandular feve...

Mountain Meadows

(Encyclopedia)Mountain Meadows, small valley in extreme SW Utah, where in 1857 a party of some 140 emigrants bound for California were massacred. It was a period when friction between Mormons and non-Mormons was ac...

mumps

(Encyclopedia)mumps (epidemic parotitis), acute contagious viral disease, manifesting itself chiefly in pain and swelling of the salivary glands, especially those at the angle of the jaw. Other symptoms are fever, ...