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blindness
(Encyclopedia)blindness, partial or complete loss of sight. Blindness may be caused by injury, by lesions of the brain or optic nerve, by disease of the cornea or retina, by pathological changes originating in syst...gingivitis
(Encyclopedia)gingivitis jĭnˌjəvīˈtĭs [key], inflammation of the gums. It may be acute, subacute, chronic, or recurrent. The gums usually become red, swollen, and spongy, and bleed easily. Chronic gingivitis ...gangrene
(Encyclopedia)gangrene, local death of body tissue. Dry gangrene, the most common form, follows a disturbance of the blood supply to the tissues, e.g., in diabetes, arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, or destruction of t...thirst
(Encyclopedia)thirst, sensation indicating the body's need for water. Dry or salty food and dry, dusty air may induce such a sensation by depleting moisture in the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat. Relief t...Benedict's solution
(Encyclopedia)Benedict's solution, deep-blue alkaline solution used to test for the presence of the aldehyde functional group, −CHO. The substance to be tested is heated with Benedict's solution; formation of a b...Best, Charles Herbert
(Encyclopedia)Best, Charles Herbert, 1899–1978, Canadian physiologist, b. West Pembroke, Maine. With F. G. Banting and J. R. R. Macleod he discovered (1921) the use of insulin in the treatment of diabetes. He was...birth defects
(Encyclopedia)birth defects, abnormalities in physical or mental structure or function that are present at birth. They range from minor to seriously deforming or life-threatening. A major defect of some type occurs...acromegaly
(Encyclopedia)acromegaly ăkˌrōmĕgˈəlē [key], adult endocrine disorder resulting from hypersecretion of growth hormone produced by the pituitary gland. Since the bones cannot increase in length after full gro...Yalow, Rosalyn Sussman
(Encyclopedia)Yalow, Rosalyn Sussman, 1921–2011, American medical physicist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Univ. of Illinois, 1945. As a researcher at the Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital (from 1947), Yalow and c...antidiuretic hormone
(Encyclopedia)antidiuretic hormone ănˌtēdīyo͞orĕtˈĭk [key], polypeptide hormone secreted by the posterior pituitary gland. Its principal action is to regulate the amount of water excreted by the kidneys. An...Browse by Subject
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