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AIDS, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, fatal disease caused by a rapidly mutating retrovirus that attacks the immune system and leaves the victim vulnerable to infections, malignancies, and neuro...

aids, in feudalism

(Encyclopedia)aids, in feudalism, type of feudal due paid by a vassal to his suzerain (overlord). Aids varied with time and place, although in English-speaking countries aids were traditionally due on the knighting...

coma, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)coma, in medicine, deep state of unconsciousness from which a person cannot be aroused even by painful stimuli. The patient cannot speak and does not respond to command. Coma is the result of damage t...

walleye, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)walleye: see strabismus.

thrush , in medicine

(Encyclopedia)thrush, in medicine, infection caused by the fungus Candida albicans, manifested by white, slightly raised patches on the mucous membrane of the tongue, mouth, and throat. The mucous membrane beneath ...

cancer, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)cancer, in medicine, common term for neoplasms, or tumors, that are malignant. Like benign tumors, malignant tumors do not respond to body mechanisms that limit cell growth. Unlike benign tumors, mali...

medicine

(Encyclopedia)medicine, the science and art of treating and preventing disease. Modern medicine, characterized by growing specialization and a complex diagnostic and therapeutic technology, faces problems in the...

alternative medicine

(Encyclopedia)alternative medicine, the treatment and prevention of disease by techniques that are regarded by modern Western medicine as scientifically unproved or unorthodox. The term alternative medicine can enc...

internal medicine

(Encyclopedia)internal medicine, branch of medicine concerned with nonsurgical remedies for diseases of the internal organs. While the internist is trained to diagnose and treat all pathologies of the various inter...

herbal medicine

(Encyclopedia)herbal medicine, use of natural plant substances (botanicals) to treat and prevent illness. The practice has existed since prehistoric times and flourishes today as the primary form of medicine for pe...