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acromegaly

(Encyclopedia)acromegaly ăkˌrōmĕgˈəlē [key], adult endocrine disorder resulting from hypersecretion of growth hormone produced by the pituitary gland. Since the bones cannot increase in length after full gro...

Ramazzini, Bernardino

(Encyclopedia)Ramazzini, Bernardino bārnärdēˈnō rämät-tsēˈnē [key], 1633–1717, Italian physician. He was professor at Modena (1682–1700) and at Padua until 1714. He is often called the father of indus...

amniocentesis

(Encyclopedia)amniocentesis ămˌnēōˌsĕntēˈsĭs [key], diagnostic procedure in which a sample of the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus is removed from the uterus by means of a fine needle inserted through th...

memory, in psychology

(Encyclopedia)memory, in psychology, the storing of learned information, and the ability to recall that which has been stored. It has been hypothesized that three processes occur in remembering: perception and regi...

thyroid gland

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Thyroid gland thyroid gland, endocrine gland, situated in the neck, that secretes hormones necessary for growth and proper metabolism. It consists of two lobes connected by a narrow segment ca...

salmonellosis

(Encyclopedia)salmonellosis sălˌmənĕlōˈsĭs [key], any of a group of infectious diseases caused by intestinal bacteria of the genus Salmonella, including typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, blood poisoning, and...

medicine

(Encyclopedia)medicine, the science and art of treating and preventing disease. Modern medicine, characterized by growing specialization and a complex diagnostic and therapeutic technology, faces problems in the...

diuretic

(Encyclopedia)diuretic dīˌyərĕtˈĭk [key], drug used to increase urine formation and output. Diuretics are prescribed for the treatment of edema (the accumulation of excess fluids in the tissues of the body), ...

Charcot, Jean Martin

(Encyclopedia)Charcot, Jean Martin zhäN märtăNˈ shärkōˈ [key], 1825–93, French neurologist. At the Salpêtrière in Paris he developed the greatest clinic of his time for diseases of the nervous system. He...

injection

(Encyclopedia)injection, introduction of a fluid into the body, usually by means of a needle and syringe. The material injected may be a test substance (as in determining allergic sensitivity or immunity to a disea...