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hydrotherapy

(Encyclopedia)hydrotherapy, use of water in the treatment of illness or injury. Although the medicinal and hygienic value of water was recognized by the early Greeks, hydrotherapy attained its widest use in the 18t...

cramp

(Encyclopedia)cramp, painful uncontrollable contraction of a muscle or group of muscles. The type that results from cold, strain, or disturbance of circulation (as experienced by swimmers) is eased by massage and t...

neuralgia

(Encyclopedia)neuralgia no͝orălˈjə, nyo͝o– [key], acute paroxysmal pain along a peripheral sensory nerve. Unlike neuritis, there is no inflammation or degeneration of nerve tissue. Neuralgia occurs commonly ...

patent medicine

(Encyclopedia)patent medicine, packaged drugs that can be obtained without prescription; the term was formerly used to describe quack remedies sold by peddlers. Patent, or proprietary, medicines are advertised to t...

sudden infant death syndrome

(Encyclopedia)sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or crib death, sudden, unexpected, and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant under one year of age (usually between two weeks and eight months old). SID...

bulb

(Encyclopedia)bulb, thickened, fleshy plant bud, usually formed under the surface of the soil, which carries the plant over from one blooming season to another. It may have many fleshy layers (as in the onion and h...

Webb Space Telescope

(Encyclopedia)Webb Space Telescope or James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), is an infrared space telescope, the largest in space at its launc...

cyclone

(Encyclopedia)cyclone, atmospheric pressure distribution in which there is a low central pressure relative to the surrounding pressure. The resulting pressure gradient, combined with the Coriolis effect, causes air...

larch

(Encyclopedia)larch, any tree of the genus Larix, conifers of the family Pinaceae (pine family), which are unusual in that they are not evergreen. The various species are widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphe...

laminitis

(Encyclopedia)laminitis lămˌənīˈtĭs [key], also called founder, inflammation of the lamina, the innermost layer of the hoof wall in horses, ponies, and donkeys. Although the condition usually affects only the...