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pelvis

(Encyclopedia)pelvis, bony, basin-shaped structure that supports the organs of the lower abdomen. It receives the weight of the upper body and distributes it to the legs; it also forms the base for numerous muscle ...

Uranus , in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Uranus yo͝orāˈnəs, yo͝orˈə– [key], in astronomy, 7th planet from the sun, at a mean distance of 1.78 billion mi (2.87 billion km), with an orbit lying between those of Saturn and Neptune; its...

Lyra

(Encyclopedia)Lyra līˈrə [key] [Lat.,=the lyre], northern constellation lying S of Draco, E of Hercules, and W of Cygnus. Although many civilizations represented it as a bird, it was also depicted as a tortoise....

Monera

(Encyclopedia)Monera, taxonomic kingdom that comprises the prokaryotes (bacteria and cyanobacteria). Prokaryotes are single-celled organisms that lack a membrane-bound nucleus and usually lack membrane-bound organe...

Nast, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Nast, Thomas, 1840–1902, American caricaturist, illustrator, and painter, b. Landau, Germany. He was brought to the United States in 1846. He began his career as a draftsman for Frank Leslie's Illus...

Lagerlöf, Selma

(Encyclopedia)Lagerlöf, Selma sĕlˈmä läˈgərlöv [key], 1858–1940, Swedish novelist. Her native Värmland is the background for many of her excellent stories, which deal with peasant life. Novels include Th...

Mauldin, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Mauldin, Bill (William Henry Mauldin), 1921–2003, American cartoonist, b. Mountain Park, N.Mex. During World War II, in which he served as an infantryman-cartoonist in Italy, France, and Germany, Ma...

Sauvage, Jean-Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Sauvage, Jean-Pierre, 1944–, French chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Strasbourg, 1971. He has spent his entire career as a researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research and a professor at the Uni...

fox terrier

(Encyclopedia)fox terrier, breed of long-legged terrier developed over several centuries in England. There are two varieties, the smooth and the wirehaired. The coat of the former is dense, short, and flat, while t...

Wexford, town, Republic of Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Wexford, town (1991 pop. 15,393), seat of Co. Wexford, SE Republic of Ireland, on Wexford Harbour, which is formed by the Slaney River estuary. Wexford serves as the headquarters of the Roman Catholic...