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peritoneum

(Encyclopedia)peritoneum pĕrətənēˈəm [key], multilayered membrane which lines the abdominal cavity, and supports and covers the organs within it. The part of the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity is ca...

peritonitis

(Encyclopedia)peritonitis pĕrˌĭtənīˈtĭs [key], acute or chronic inflammation of the peritoneum, the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity and surrounds the internal organs. It is caused by invasion of bac...

Wassermann, August von

(Encyclopedia)Wassermann, August von wŏsˈərmən, Ger. ouˈgo͝ost fən väsˈərmän [key], 1866–1925, German physician and bacteriologist. In Berlin he was director of the department of experimental therapy a...

starvation

(Encyclopedia)starvation, condition in which deprivation of food has forced the body to feed on itself. Causes are famine, fasting, malnutrition, or abnormalities of the mucosal lining of the digestive system. Fami...

Brooke, Rupert

(Encyclopedia)Brooke, Rupert, 1887–1915, English poet. At the outbreak of World War I he joined the Royal Naval Division, served at Antwerp, and was in the Dardanelles expedition when he died of blood poisoning a...

Capa, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Capa, Robert kăpˈə [key], 1913–54, American war photographer, b. Hungary as Andre Friedmann. He came to Paris in 1933 and from that time on recorded with profound concern the spectacle of humanit...

heart, artificial

(Encyclopedia)heart, artificial, external or surgically implanted mechanical device designed to replace a patient's diseased heart. The first one used on a human being, the Jarvik-7, was implanted (1982) in Barney ...

feathers

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Structure of a bird feather feathers, outgrowths of the skin, constituting the plumage of birds. Feathers grow only along certain definite tracts (pterylae), which vary in different groups of ...

Rift Valley fever

(Encyclopedia)Rift Valley fever, acute viral disease that affects domestic livestock and can be transmitted to humans. The disease is most common in E and S Africa, but also occurs widely in sub-Saharan Africa and ...

adrenal gland

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Adrenal glands: The cross-sectioned area shows the adrenal cortex and medulla. adrenal gland so͞oprərēnˈəl [key], endocrine gland (see endocrine system) about 2 in. (5.1 cm) long situated...