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iron lung

(Encyclopedia)iron lung, device used to maintain artificial respiration over an extended period of time. Before the successful vaccination program against poliomyelitis, it was used mostly in treatment of that dise...

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...

imitation

(Encyclopedia)imitation, in music, a device of counterpoint wherein a phrase or motive is employed successively in more than one voice. The imitation may be exact, the same intervals being repeated at the same or d...

abscess

(Encyclopedia)abscess, localized inflammation associated with tissue necrosis. Abscesses are characterized by inflamation, which is due to the accumulation of pus in the local tissues, and often painful...

Great Dane

(Encyclopedia)Great Dane, breed of very large, powerful working dog developed in Europe more than 400 years ago. It may stand as high as 36 in. (91.4 cm) at the shoulder and weigh up to 150 lb (68.1 kg). Its short,...

Gamelin, Maurice Gustave

(Encyclopedia)Gamelin, Maurice Gustave môrēsˈ güstävˈ gäməlăNˈ [key], 1872–1958, French army officer. During World War I he served on General Joffre's staff and as a division commander. He was made chie...

associative law

(Encyclopedia)associative law, in mathematics, law holding that for a given operation combining three quantities, two at a time, the initial pairing is arbitrary; e.g., using the operation of addition, the numbers ...

noun

(Encyclopedia)noun [Lat.,=name], in English, part of speech of vast semantic range. It can be used to name a person, place, thing, idea, or time. It generally functions as subject, object, or indirect object of the...

navigable water

(Encyclopedia)navigable water, in the broadest sense, a stream or body of water that can be used for commercial transportation. When, as in the early common law, the term is restricted to waters affected by tides, ...

pneumothorax

(Encyclopedia)pneumothorax no͞omōthôrˈăks [key], collapse of a lung with escape of air into the pleural cavity between the lung and the chest wall. The cause may be traumatic (e.g., gunshot or stab wound), spo...