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kneecap

(Encyclopedia)kneecap (patella), saucer-shaped bone at the front of the knee joint; it protects the ends of the femur, or thighbone, and the tibia, the large bone of the foreleg. The kneecap is embedded in the tend...

Brannan, Charles Franklin

(Encyclopedia)Brannan, Charles Franklin, 1903–92, U.S. government official, b. Denver, LL.B. Univ. of Denver, 1929. He became a specialist in agriculture and mining law. In the Dept. of Agriculture after 1935, Br...

Red Rock chicken

(Encyclopedia)Red Rock chicken, the only chicken still popular to any large extent in the United States today for both meat and eggs. It resulted from a cross between a Rhode Island Red male and a Plymouth Rock fem...

upholstery

(Encyclopedia)upholstery, general term for household fittings, hangings, curtains, cushions, and covers. It refers to stuffed, padded, and spring-cushioned furniture, such as chairs and sofas, or to the usually dec...

Pacaya

(Encyclopedia)Pacaya, volcanic massif, 8,373 ft (2,552 m) high, S central Guatemala, 19 mi (30 km) S of Guatemala City, on the southern edge of the ancient caldera that contains Lake Amatitlán. One of the world's ...

cribbage

(Encyclopedia)cribbage krĭbˈĭj [key], card game played by two persons with a deck of 52 cards and a scoring (pegging) device known as a cribbage board. The board contains four rows of 30 holes each (two rows for...

Chamberlain, Sir Austen

(Encyclopedia)Chamberlain, Sir Austen (Joseph Austen Chamberlain) chāmˈbərlĭn [key], 1863–1937, British statesman; son of Joseph Chamberlain and half-brother of Neville Chamberlain. He entered Parliament as a...

fainting

(Encyclopedia)fainting or syncope sĭngˈkəpē [key], temporary loss of consciousness caused by an insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain. It can be concurrent with any serious disease or condition, such as he...

hemoglobin

(Encyclopedia)hemoglobin hēˈməglōˌbĭn [key], respiratory protein found in the red blood cells (erythrocytes) of all vertebrates and some invertebrates. A hemoglobin molecule is composed of a protein group, kn...

adenosine triphosphate

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) adenosine triphosphate (ATP) ədĕnˈəsēn trīˌfŏsˈfāt [key], organic compound composed of adenine, the sugar ribose, and three phosphate groups. ATP serves ...