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whooping cough

(Encyclopedia)whooping cough or pertussis, highly communicable infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. The early or catarrhal stage of whooping cough is manifested by the usual symptoms of ...

cough

(Encyclopedia)cough, sudden, forceful expiration of air from the lungs caused by an involuntary contraction of the muscles controlling the process of breathing. The cough is a response to some irritating condition ...

pertussis

(Encyclopedia)pertussis: see whooping cough.

Bordet, Jules

(Encyclopedia)Bordet, Jules zhül bôrdāˈ [key], 1870–1961, Belgian serologist and immunologist, M.D. Univ. of Brussels, 1892. He became director of the Pasteur Institute in Brussels in 1901 and professor at th...

Nicolle, Charles Jules Henri

(Encyclopedia)Nicolle, Charles Jules Henri shärl zhül äNrēˈ nēkôlˈ [key], 1866–1936, French physician and microbiologist. He worked with P. P. É. Roux in Paris and was director of the Pasteur Institute i...

laryngitis

(Encyclopedia)laryngitis, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the voice box, or larynx, usually accompanied by hoarseness, sore throat, and coughing. Acute laryngitis is often a secondary bacterial infection tri...

vomiting

(Encyclopedia)vomiting, ejection of food and other matter from the stomach through the mouth, often preceded by nausea. The process is initiated by stimulation of the vomiting center of the brain by nerve impulses ...

Robbins, John Bennet

(Encyclopedia)Robbins, John Bennet, 1932–2019, American physician and microbiologist, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., M.D. New York Univ., 1959. He did research at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and taught at the...

communicable diseases

(Encyclopedia)communicable diseases, illnesses caused by microorganisms and transmitted from an infected person or animal to another person or animal. Some diseases are passed on by direct or indirect contact with ...

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