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Oakland

(Encyclopedia)Oakland, city (1990 pop. 372,242), seat of Alameda co., W Calif., on the eastern side of San Francisco Bay; inc. 1852. Together with San Francisco and San Jose, the city comprises the fourth largest m...

obstetrics

(Encyclopedia)obstetrics ŏbstĕˈtrĭks [key], branch of medicine concerned with the treatment of women during pregnancy, labor, childbirth (see birth), and the time after childbirth. Obstetricians work to ensure ...

vein

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Cross section of vein showing valves vein, blood vessel that returns blood to the heart. Except for the pulmonary vein, which carries oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart, veins carry ...

Wisdom of Solomon

(Encyclopedia)Wisdom of Solomon or Wisdom, early Jewish book included in the Septuagint and the Vulgate but not in the Hebrew Bible. The book opens with an exhortation to seek wisdom, followed by a statement on wor...

stealth technology

(Encyclopedia)stealth technology, designs and materials engineered for the military purpose of avoiding detection by radar or any other electronic system. Stealth, or antidetection, technology is applied to vehicle...

Spartacus party

(Encyclopedia)Spartacus party or Spartacists, radical group of German Socialists, formed c.Mar., 1916, and led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. The name was derived from the pseudonym Spartacus used by Liebkn...

Biqa, Al

(Encyclopedia)Biqa, Al ĕl bēkäˈ [key], upland valley of Lebanon and Syria, 75 mi (121 km) long and 5 to 9 mi (8–14.5 km) wide, between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges; highest part of the Rift Valley comp...

Whelan, Wendy

(Encyclopedia)Whelan, Wendy, 1967–, American ballet dancer, b. Louisville, Ky. A soloist (1989) and principal (1991) with the New York City Ballet (NYCB), the angular, muscled Whelan became known for her roles in...

White Nile

(Encyclopedia)White Nile, river, one of the chief tributaries of the Nile, E Africa. The name is sometimes used for the 600 mi (970 km) long section of the river known as the Bahr el Abiad that extends upstream fro...

vault

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Vaults vault, ceiling over a room, formed in any one of a variety of curved shapes. The architects of the Renaissance and baroque periods abandoned Gothic methods and returned to Roman vault...