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alcoholism

(Encyclopedia)alcoholism, 04/00 disease characterized by impaired control over the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Alcoholism is a serious problem worldwide; in the United States the wide availability of alcoho...

Nemertinea

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Ribbon worm, representative of the phylum Nemertinea B. Internal anatomy of a ribbon worm Nemertinea nĕmərtĭnˈēə [key], phylum of elongated, often flattened, marine Worms, sometimes c...

death

(Encyclopedia)death, cessation of all life (metabolic) processes. Death may involve the organism as a whole (somatic death) or may be confined to cells and tissues within the organism. Causes of death in human bein...

Eucharist

(Encyclopedia)Eucharist yo͞oˈkərĭst [key] [Gr.,=thanksgiving], Christian sacrament that repeats the action of Jesus at his last supper with his disciples, when he gave them bread, saying, “This is my body,”...

hemorrhagic fever

(Encyclopedia)hemorrhagic fever hĕmˌərăjˈĭk [key], any of a group of viral diseases characterized by sudden onset, muscle and joint pain, fever, bleeding, and shock from loss of blood. Bleeding occurs in the ...

dysentery

(Encyclopedia)dysentery dĭsˈəntĕrˌē [key], inflammation of the intestine characterized by the frequent passage of feces, usually with blood and mucus. The two most common causes of dysentery are infection wit...

carbon monoxide

(Encyclopedia)carbon monoxide, chemical compound, CO, a colorless, odorless, tasteless, extremely poisonous gas that is less dense than air under ordinary conditions. It is very slightly soluble in water and burns ...

O'Connor, Flannery

(Encyclopedia)O'Connor, Flannery (Mary Flannery O'Connor), 1925–64, American author, b. Savannah, Ga., grad. Women's College of Georgia (A.B., 1945), Iowa State Univ. (M.F.A., 1947). As a writer, O'Connor is high...

migraine

(Encyclopedia)migraine mīˈgrān [key], headache characterized by recurrent attacks of severe pain, usually on one side of the head. It may be preceded by flashes or spots before the eyes or a ringing in the ears,...

MacLeod, Alistair

(Encyclopedia)MacLeod, Alistair məkloudˈ [key], 1936–2014, Canadian fiction writer, b. John Alexander Joseph MacLeod, Ph.D. Notre Dame, 1968. He taught at the Univ. of Windsor from the late 1960s until his reti...