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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...

Perkins School for the Blind

(Encyclopedia)Perkins School for the Blind, at Watertown, Mass.; chartered 1829, opened 1832 in South Boston as the New England Asylum for the Blind, with Samuel G. Howe as its director; moved 1912. From 1877 to 19...

hygiene

(Encyclopedia)hygiene, science of preserving and promoting the health of both the individual and the community. It has many aspects: personal hygiene (proper living habits, cleanliness of body and clothing, healthf...

Mississippi State University for Women

(Encyclopedia)Mississippi State University for Women, at Columbus; the first state-supported women's college; chartered 1884, opened 1885 as Mississippi Industrial Institute and College, renamed Mississippi State C...

pole, in electricity and magnetism

(Encyclopedia)pole, in electricity and magnetism, point where electric or magnetic force appears to be concentrated. A single electric charge located at a point is sometimes referred to as an electric monopole. An ...

magic, in religion and superstition

(Encyclopedia)magic, in religion and superstition, the practice of manipulating and controlling the course of nature by preternatural means. Magic is based upon the belief that the universe is populated by unseen f...

Carolingian architecture and art

(Encyclopedia)Carolingian architecture and art, art forms and structures created by the Carolingians. Toward the beginning of the Carolingian Period, in the 8th cent., a gradual change appeared in Western culture a...

Dummer, Jeremiah, c.1680–1739, colonial agent for Massachusetts and Connecticut

(Encyclopedia)Dummer, Jeremiah, c.1680–1739, colonial agent for Massachusetts and Connecticut, b. Boston; son of Jeremiah Dummer (1645–1718). He saw little opportunity for business in Boston and settled in Engl...

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

(Encyclopedia)amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) āˌmīətrōfˈik, sklĭrōˈsĭs [key] or motor neuron disease, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease, degenerative disease that affects motor neurons in the brai...

cigar and cigarette

(Encyclopedia)cigar and cigarette, tubular rolls of tobacco designed for smoking. Cigars consist of filler leaves held together by binder leaves and covered with a wrapper leaf, which is rolled spirally around the ...