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irritable bowel syndrome

(Encyclopedia)irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), condition characterized by constipation, diarrhea, or alternating constipation and diarrhea in the absence of any disease process. It is usually accompanied by abdomina...

Gambier Islands

(Encyclopedia)Gambier Islands gămˈbĭr [key], volcanic islands (6 sq mi/15.5 sq km), South Pacific, near the ...

Mers-el-Kebir

(Encyclopedia)Mers-el-Kebir mĕrs-ĕl-kəbĭrˈ [key], town, NW Algeria, on the Gulf of Oran. Originally a Roman port, it has a long history of maritime importance. During the 15th cent. it was a center of activity...

sports medicine

(Encyclopedia)sports medicine, branch of medicine concerned with physical fitness and with the treatment and prevention of injuries and other disorders related to sports. Knee, leg, back, and shoulder injuries; sti...

color blindness

(Encyclopedia)color blindness, visual defect resulting in the inability to distinguish colors. About 8% of men and 0.5% of women experience some difficulty in color perception. Color blindness is usually an inherit...

pseudocyesis

(Encyclopedia)pseudocyesis so͞oˌdōsīēˈsĭs [key], imaginary pregnancy in women usually resulting from a strong desire or need for motherhood. In the absence of conception, the menstrual periods nevertheless c...

Strategic Defense Initiative

(Encyclopedia)Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), former U.S. government program responsible for research and development of a space-based system to defend the nation from attack by strategic ballistic missiles (se...

secret society

(Encyclopedia)secret society, organization of initiated persons whose members, purposes, and rituals are kept secret. Human groups throughout history have maintained secret societies. The ceremonies of initiation i...

Gass, William Howard

(Encyclopedia)Gass, William Howard, 1924–2017, American author, b. Fargo, N.Dak., grad. Kenyon College, 1947; Ph.D. Cornell, 1954. From 1969 to 1999 he was a professor of philosophy at Washington Univ., St. Louis...

river blindness

(Encyclopedia)river blindness or onchocerciasis, disease caused by the parasitic nematode worm Onchocerca volvulus. The worm larvae are transmitted by the bites of blackflies (genus Simulium) that live in fast movi...