Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

403 results found

chickenpox

(Encyclopedia)chickenpox or varicella vârˌəsĕlˈə [key], infectious disease usually occurring in childhood. It is caused by the same herpesvirus, varicella-zoster, that produces shingles; the virus can hide in...

public health

(Encyclopedia)public health, field of medicine and hygiene dealing with the prevention of disease and the promotion of health by government agencies. In the United States, public health authorities are engaged in m...

hygiene

(Encyclopedia)hygiene, science of preserving and promoting the health of both the individual and the community. It has many aspects: personal hygiene (proper living habits, cleanliness of body and clothing, healthf...

Henderson, Donald Ainslie

(Encyclopedia)Henderson, Donald Ainslie, 1928–2016, American physician instrumental in eradicating smallpox, b. Lakewood, Ohio, M.D. Univ. of Rochester, 1954, M.P.H. Johns Hopkins, 1960. He joined (1955) the Epid...

plant pathology

(Encyclopedia)plant pathology: see diseases of plants. ...

blight

(Encyclopedia)blight, general term for any sudden and severe plant disease or for the agent that causes it. The term is now applied chiefly to diseases caused by bacteria (e.g., bean blights and fire blight of frui...

Dutch elm disease

(Encyclopedia)Dutch elm disease: see diseases of plants; elm. ...

sudden oak death

(Encyclopedia)sudden oak death: see diseases of plants; water mold. ...

Koch, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Koch, Robert rōˈbĕrt kôkh [key], 1843–1910, German bacteriologist. He studied at Göttingen under Jacob Henle. As a country practitioner in Wollstein, Posen (now Wolsztyn, Poland), he devoted mu...

Bolley, Henry Luke

(Encyclopedia)Bolley, Henry Luke, 1865–1956, American plant pathologist, b. Dearborn co., Ind. He is noted for his work on organisms causing diseases of crop plants (including the discovery of the cause of potato...