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kidney, artificial

(Encyclopedia)kidney, artificial, mechanical device capable of assuming the functions ordinarily performed by the kidneys. In treating cases of kidney failure a tube is inserted into an artery in the patient's arm ...

myxedema

(Encyclopedia)myxedema mĭksədēˈmə [key], condition associated with severe hypothyroidism and lack of thyroid hormone in the adult. In the child it is known as cretinism. Symptoms include a dry swelling of the ...

gunmetal

(Encyclopedia)gunmetal, a bronze, an alloy of copper, tin, and a small amount of zinc. Although originally used extensively for making guns (from which it received its name), it has been superseded by steel, and it...

fetishism

(Encyclopedia)fetishism, in psychiatry, a paraphilia (see perversion, sexual) in which erotic interest and satisfaction are centered on an inanimate object or a specific, nongenital part of the anatomy. Generally o...

bunion

(Encyclopedia)bunion, swelling or thickening around the first joint of the big toe. The toe is forced inward and compresses the other toes. The fluid-filled sac, or bursa, in the toe joint becomes inflamed (a condi...

homosexuality

(Encyclopedia)homosexuality, a term created by 19th cent. theorists to describe a sexual and emotional interest in members of one's own sex. Today a person is often said to have a homosexual or a heterosexual orien...

Kuhn, Bowie Kent

(Encyclopedia)Kuhn, Bowie Kent bo͞oˈē, kyo͞on [key], 1926–2007, American lawyer and commissioner of baseball, b. Takoma Park, Md. He was legal counsel for the baseball club owners before his election as commi...

annexation

(Encyclopedia)annexation, in international law, formal act by which a state asserts its sovereignty over a territory previously outside its jurisdiction. Many kinds of territory have been subject to annexation, chi...

Houphouët-Boigny, Félix

(Encyclopedia)Houphouët-Boigny, Félix fālēksˈ o͞ofwāˈ-bwäˈnyə [key], 1905–93, African political leader, president (1960–93) of Côte d'Ivoire. Descended from wealthy Baoule chieftains, he practiced m...

Huntington, Henry Edwards

(Encyclopedia)Huntington, Henry Edwards, 1850–1927, American financier, b. Oneonta, N.Y. He was prominent in railroad and other enterprises. Until the death of his uncle, Collis P. Huntington, the two were busine...