Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

scar

(Encyclopedia)scar, fibrous connective tissue that forms at the site of injury or disease in any tissue of the body. Scar tissue may replace injured skin and underlying muscle, damaged heart muscle, or diseased are...

Doisy, Edward Adelbert

(Encyclopedia)Doisy, Edward Adelbert doiˈzē [key], 1893–1986, American biochemist, b. Hume, Ill., grad. Univ. of Illinois (B.A., 1914), Ph.D. Harvard, 1920. For his discovery of the chemical nature of vitamin K...

feud

(Encyclopedia)feud, formalized private warfare, especially between family groups. The blood feud (see vendetta) is characteristic of those societies in which a strong central government either has not arisen or has...

Hawkes, John

(Encyclopedia)Hawkes, John (John Clendennin Burne Hawkes, Jr.), 1925–98, American writer, b. Stamford, Conn., grad. Harvard, 1949. He taught English at Brown Univ. after 1958. Hawkes is considered one of the most...

congestive heart failure

(Encyclopedia)congestive heart failure, inability of the heart to expel sufficient blood to keep pace with the metabolic demands of the body. In the healthy individual the heart can tolerate large increases of work...

connective tissue

(Encyclopedia)connective tissue, supportive tissue widely distributed in the body, characterized by large amounts of intercellular substance and relatively few cells. The intercellular material, or matrix, is produ...

urea

(Encyclopedia)CE5 urea yo͝oēˈə [key], organic compound that is the principal end product of nitrogen metabolism in most mammals. Urea was the first animal metabolite to be isolated in crystalline form; its c...

ophthalmology

(Encyclopedia)ophthalmology ŏfˌthălmŏlˈəjē [key], branch of medicine specializing in the anatomy, function and diseases of the eye. Ophthalmologists specialize in the medical and surgical treatment of eye di...

malaria

(Encyclopedia)malaria, infectious parasitic disease that can be either acute or chronic and is frequently recurrent. Malaria is common in Africa, Central and South America, the Mediterranean countries, Asia, and ma...

AIDS, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, fatal disease caused by a rapidly mutating retrovirus that attacks the immune system and leaves the victim vulnerable to infections, malignancies, and neuro...

Browse by Subject