Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Baixada Fluminense

(Encyclopedia)Baixada Fluminense bīshäˈdə flo͞omēnēNnˈsə [key], coastal lowland region, Rio de Janeiro state, SE Brazil. It extends c.250 mi (400 km) from Sepetiba Bay to the Paraíba River between the Ser...

hemolysis

(Encyclopedia)hemolysis hĭmŏlˈĭsĭs [key], destruction of red blood cells in the bloodstream. Although new red blood cells, or erythrocytes, are continuously created and old ones destroyed, an excessive rate of...

septicemia

(Encyclopedia)septicemia sĕptĭsēˈmēə [key], invasion of the bloodstream by virulent bacteria that multiply and discharge their toxic products. The disorder, which is serious and sometimes fatal, is commonly k...

paraplegia

(Encyclopedia)paraplegia pârˌəplēˈjēə [key], paralysis of the lower part of the body, commonly affecting both legs and often internal organs below the waist. When both legs and arms are affected, the conditi...

Laveran, Charles Louis Alphonse

(Encyclopedia)Laveran, Charles Louis Alphonse shärl lwē älfôNsˈ lävəräNˈ [key], 1845–1922, French physician. While an army surgeon in Algiers he discovered (1880) the parasite that causes malaria and wro...

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...

Fracastoro, Girolamo

(Encyclopedia)Fracastoro, Girolamo jērôˈlämō fräkästôˈrō [key], 1483–1553, Italian physician and poet. He was born in Verona, where he practiced after studying at Padua. He studied epidemic diseases and...

tree surgery

(Encyclopedia)tree surgery, practice of repairing damaged trees to restore their appearance and to arrest disease. Injured or diseased parts are first removed (even small cavities in the bark may harbor injurious f...

Richards, Dickinson Woodruff, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Richards, Dickinson Woodruff, Jr., 1895–1973, American physician and physiologist, b. Orange, N.J., grad. Yale, 1917, M.D. Columbia, 1923. He joined the staff of the College of Physicians and Surgeo...

Windaus, Adolf

(Encyclopedia)Windaus, Adolf äˈdôlf vĭnˈdous [key], 1876–1959, German chemist. He was professor of chemistry and director of the chemistry laboratories at the Univ. of Göttingen (1915–44). For his researc...

Browse by Subject