Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

skeleton, in anatomy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Human skeleton skeleton, in anatomy, the stiff supportive framework of the body. The two basic types of skeleton found among animals are the exoskeleton and the endoskeleton. The shell of the ...

Heart, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Heart, river, 180 mi (290 km) long, rising in the low prairie country near the Little Missouri River, SW N.Dak., and flowing E to the Missouri at Mandan, N.Dak. The Heart Butte and Dickinson dams, irr...

heart disease

(Encyclopedia)heart disease, any of several abnormalities of the heart and its function in maintaining blood circulation. Heart disease is the cause of approximately half the deaths in the United States each year. ...

athlete's heart

(Encyclopedia)athlete's heart, common term for an enlarged heart associated with repeated strenuous exercise. As a result of the increased workload required of it, the heart will increase physiologically by enlargi...

artificial heart

(Encyclopedia)artificial heart: see heart, artificial. ...

bleeding heart

(Encyclopedia)bleeding heart: see fumitory.

heart attack

(Encyclopedia)heart attack: see under infarction. ...

congenital heart disease

(Encyclopedia)congenital heart disease, any defect in the heart present at birth. There is evidence that some congenital heart defects are inherited, but the cause of most cases is unknown. One known cause is infec...

heart-lung machine

(Encyclopedia)heart-lung machine, device that maintains the circulation of the blood and the oxygen content of the body when connected with the arteriovenous system; it is also called the pump oxygenator. The machi...

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...