Columbia Encyclopedia

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beetle

(Encyclopedia)beetle, common name for insects of the order Coleoptera, which, with more than 300,000 described species, is the largest of the insect orders. Beetles have chewing mouthparts and well-developed antenn...

thyroid gland

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Thyroid gland thyroid gland, endocrine gland, situated in the neck, that secretes hormones necessary for growth and proper metabolism. It consists of two lobes connected by a narrow segment ca...

cockle

(Encyclopedia)cockle, common name applied to the heart-shaped, jumping or leaping marine bivalve mollusks, belonging to the order Eulamellibranchia. The brittle shells are of uniform size, are obliquely spherical, ...

Huns

(Encyclopedia)Huns, nomadic and pastoral people of unknown ethnological affinities who appeared in Europe in the 4th cent. a.d., and built up an empire there. They were organized in a predominantly military manner....

potato

(Encyclopedia)potato or white potato, common name for a perennial plant (Solanum tuberosum) of the family Solanaceae (nightshade family) and for its swollen underground stem, a tuber, which is one of the most widel...

carrot

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Carrot, Daucus carota carrot, common name for some members of the Umbelliferae, a family (also called the parsley family) of chiefly biennial or perennial herbs of north temperate regions. Mos...

shrew

(Encyclopedia)shrew, common name for the small, insectivorous mammals of the family Soricidae, related to the moles. Shrews include the smallest mammals; the smallest shrews are under 2 in. (5.1 cm) long, excluding...

bat

(Encyclopedia)bat, winged mammal of the order Chiroptera, which includes 900–1,000 species classified in about 200 genera and 17 families. Bats range in size from a wingspread of over 5 ft (150 cm) to a wingsprea...

fertility drug

(Encyclopedia)fertility drug, any of a variety of substances used to increase the possibility of conception and successful pregnancy. Different methods are used to correct or circumvent the many different functiona...

psychotherapy

(Encyclopedia)psychotherapy, treatment of mental and emotional disorders using psychological methods. Psychotherapy, thus, does not include physiological interventions, such as drug therapy or electroconvulsive the...