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chigger

(Encyclopedia)chigger, minute, six-legged, reddish larva of the harvest mite, one of various red bugs widely distributed throughout the world and common in the S United States. Attaching itself by its mouthparts to...

gibberellins

(Encyclopedia)gibberellins jĭbˌərĕlˈĭnz [key], a group of growth-regulating substances of plants, having complex chemical structure, of which the best known, gibberellic acid, is noted for its promotion of st...

disinfectant

(Encyclopedia)disinfectant, agent that destroys disease-causing microorganisms and their spores. Disinfectants, or germicides, are sometimes considered to be substances applied to inanimate bodies, whereas antisept...

Erasistratus

(Encyclopedia)Erasistratus ĕrəsĭsˈtrətəs [key], fl. 3d cent. b.c., Greek physician, b. Chios. He was the leader of a school of medicine in Alexandria, and his works were influential until the 4th cent. a.d. H...

trichomoniasis

(Encyclopedia)trichomoniasis trĭkˌəmənīˈəsĭs [key], sexually transmitted disease caused by the parasitic protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis. In women, it can cause urinary tract infection and a painful, malodo...

post-mortem examination

(Encyclopedia)post-mortem examination or autopsy, systematic examination of a cadaver for study or for determining the cause of death. Post-mortems use many methodical procedures to determine the etiology and patho...

dry rot

(Encyclopedia)dry rot, fungus disease that attacks both softwood and hardwood timber. Destruction of the cellulose causes discoloration and eventual crumbling of the wood. This frequently results in the collapse of...

eczema

(Encyclopedia)eczema ĕkˈsəmə [key], acute or chronic skin disease characterized by redness, itching, serum-filled blisters, crusting, and scaling. Predisposing factors are familial history of allergic disorders...

Haldane, John Scott

(Encyclopedia)Haldane, John Scott, 1860–1936, British scientist, b. Edinburgh; father of John Burdon Sanderson Haldane. He made many important contributions to mine safety, investigating principally the action of...

Szent-Gyorgyi, Albert von

(Encyclopedia)Szent-Gyorgyi, Albert von älˈbĕrt fən sĕntˌ-dyörˈdyĭ [key], 1893–1986, American biochemist, b. Hungary, M.D. Univ. of Budapest, 1917; Ph.D. Cambridge, 1927. After teaching at the universiti...