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waterleaf

(Encyclopedia)waterleaf, common name for the Hydrophyllaceae, a family of herbs and some shrubs, widely distributed but especially abundant in W and SW North America. Best known in the United States are the waterle...

vascular bundle

(Encyclopedia)vascular bundle, in botany, a strand of conducting tissue extending lengthwise through the stems and roots of higher plants, including the ferns, fern allies, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. The vascula...

Vigeland, Gustav

(Encyclopedia)Vigeland, Gustav go͝osˈtäv vēˈgəlän [key], 1869–1943, Norwegian sculptor. Vigeland's sculpture owed much to Rodin in stylistic realism but was imbued with an unrestrained romanticism and emot...

endocrine system

(Encyclopedia)endocrine system ĕnˈdəkrĭn [key], body control system composed of a group of glands that maintain a stable internal environment by producing chemical regulatory substances called hormones. The end...

estrogen

(Encyclopedia)CE5 estrogen ĕsˈtrəjən [key], any one of a group of hormones synthesized by the reproductive organs and adrenal glands in females and, in lesser quantities, in males. The estrogens cause the th...

hypersensitivity

(Encyclopedia)hypersensitivity, heightened response in a body tissue to an antigen or foreign substance. The body normally responds to an antigen by producing specific antibodies against it. The antibodies impart i...

Ngugi wa Thiong'o

(Encyclopedia)Ngugi wa Thiong'o ĕngo͞oˈgē wä tē-ŏngˈgō [key] or James Ngugi, 1938–, Kenyan writer, acclaimed as East Africa's foremost novelist. He studied at universities in Uganda and England. His firs...

Chabrol, Claude

(Encyclopedia)Chabrol, Claude klōd shäbrōlˈ [key], 1930–2010, French filmmaker, b. Paris, attended Univ. of Paris. One of the creators of the French “new wave” cinema of the 1950s and 60s, he and such oth...

space medicine

(Encyclopedia)space medicine, study of the medical and biological effects of space travel on living organisms. The principal aim is to discover how well and for how long humans can withstand the extreme conditions ...

dog racing

(Encyclopedia)dog racing, trials of speed between dogs. Now contested on oval tracks, the sport developed from the ancient practice of coursing, in which specially trained dogs chase game animals in the open field....