Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

167 results found

catatonia

(Encyclopedia)catatonia kătˌətōˈnēə [key], mental state generally characterized by statuesque posturing, muscular immobility, mutism, and apparent stupor. The muscles are held in a pliant state called waxy f...

lung cancer

(Encyclopedia)lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs aft...

Eagleton, Thomas Francis

(Encyclopedia)Eagleton, Thomas Francis, 1929–2007, U.S. senator (1968–87), b. St. Louis, Mo. Admitted to the bar in 1953, he entered Democratic politics in Missouri and served as circuit attorney for St. Louis ...

Dukakis, Olympia

(Encyclopedia) Dukakis, Olympia, 1931-2021, American actress, b. Lowell, Ma., Boston Univ. (B.A., M.F.A.). Dukakis’s parents were Greek immigrants. After ...

Cushing, Harvey Williams

(Encyclopedia)Cushing, Harvey Williams, 1869–1939, American neurosurgeon, b. Cleveland, B.A. Yale, 1891, M.D. Harvard, 1895. Associated with Johns Hopkins (1896–1912), Harvard (1912–32), and Yale (1933–37),...

chloramphenicol

(Encyclopedia)chloramphenicol klōrˌămfĕnˈəkŏlˌ [key], antibiotic effective against a wide range of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria (see Gram's stain). It was originally isolated from a species of S...

cleft palate

(Encyclopedia)cleft palate, incomplete fusion of bones of the palate. The cleft may be confined to the soft palate at the back of the mouth; it may include the hard palate, or roof of the mouth; or it may extend th...

histamine

(Encyclopedia)histamine hĭsˈtəmēnˌ [key], organic compound derived in the body from the amino acid histidine by the removal of a carboxyl group (COOH). Although found in many plant and animal tissues, histamin...

Hodgkin's disease

(Encyclopedia)Hodgkin's disease, a type of cancer of the lymphatic system. First identified in 1832 in England by Thomas Hodgkin, it is a type of malignant lymphoma. Incidence peaks in young adults and the elderly....

Lodge, David

(Encyclopedia)Lodge, David (David John Lodge), 1935–, English novelist and critic, b. London, grad. University College, London (B.A. 1955, M.A. 1959) and the Univ. of Birmingham (Ph.D., 1967). Lodge taught at the...