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Hall, Marshall

(Encyclopedia)Hall, Marshall, 1790–1857, English physician and physiologist, M.D. Univ. of Edinburgh, 1812. He practiced medicine in Nottingham and in London. He opposed bloodletting and devised a method of artif...

Pavlov, Ivan Petrovich

(Encyclopedia)Pavlov, Ivan Petrovich ēvänˈ pētrôˈvĭch pävˈləf [key], 1849–1936, Russian physiologist and experimental psychologist. He was professor at the military medical academy and director of the p...

amobarbital

(Encyclopedia)amobarbital ămˌōbärˈbĭtäl [key], drug that acts as a nervous system depressant. See barbiturate. ...

chloral hydrate

(Encyclopedia)chloral hydrate klōrˈəl hīˈdrāt [key], central nervous system depressant that is widely used as a hypnotic, or sleep-inducing drug. Chloral hydrate is the common ingredient, along with alcohol, ...

Bell, Sir Charles

(Encyclopedia)Bell, Sir Charles, 1774–1842, Scottish anatomist and surgeon. He became professor of anatomy and surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons, London, in 1824 and was professor of surgery at the Univ. o...

nalorphine

(Encyclopedia)nalorphine nălˈərfēn [key], derivative of morphine that acts to reverse the effects of morphine and other narcotics. It counteracts narcotic-induced nervous system and respiratory system depressio...

ataxia

(Encyclopedia)ataxia ətăkˈsēə [key], lack of coordination of the voluntary muscles resulting in irregular movements of the body. Ataxia can be brought on by an injury, infection, or degenerative disease of the...

psychosomatic medicine

(Encyclopedia)psychosomatic medicine sīˌkōsōmătˈĭk [key], study and treatment of those emotional disturbances that are manifested as physical disorders. The term psychosomatic emphasizes essential unity of t...

sedative

(Encyclopedia)sedative, any of a variety of drugs that relieve anxiety. Most sedatives act as mild depressants of the nervous system, lessening general nervous activity or reducing the irritability or activity of a...

Willis, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Willis, Thomas, 1621–75, English physician and anatomist. He became professor at Oxford in 1660 and in 1666 established a practice in London. An authority on the brain and the nervous system, he dis...