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lares

(Encyclopedia)lares lârˈēz [key], in Roman religion, guardian spirits. According to some they were ghosts of the dead, destructive spirits who frequented crossroads and had to be propitiated. Others say that the...

Pluto, in Greek religion and mythology

(Encyclopedia)Pluto, in Greek religion and mythology, god of the underworld, son of Kronos and Rhea; also called Hades. After the fall of the Titans, Pluto and his brothers Zeus and Poseidon divided the universe, a...

catch crop

(Encyclopedia)catch crop, any quick-growing crop sown between seasons of regular planting to make use of temporary idleness of the soil or to compensate for the failure of a main crop. It may be such rapid-maturing...

Sharon, plain, Israel

(Encyclopedia)Sharon shāˈrən, shârˈən [key], plain between the Samarian Hills of central Israel and the Mediterranean Sea, extending c.50 mi (80 km) from Jaffa to Caesarea, and mentioned several times in the ...

morphine

(Encyclopedia)morphine, principal derivative of opium, which is the juice in the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. It was first isolated from opium in 1803 by the German pharmacist F. W. A. S...

cocaine

(Encyclopedia)cocaine kōkānˈ, kōˈkān [key], alkaloid drug derived from the leaves of the coca shrub. A commonly abused illegal drug, cocaine has limited medical uses, most often in surgical applications that ...

l-dopa

(Encyclopedia)l-dopa ĕl-dōˈpə [key], drug used to alleviate some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, particularly trembling, rigidity, and slow movements; the drug is also called levodopa. Parkinson's disea...

AZT

(Encyclopedia)AZT or zidovudine zīdōˈvyo͞odēnˌ [key], drug used to treat patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS; also called azidothymidine. Originally developed in 1...

oxycodone

(Encyclopedia) oxycodone is a synthetic opioid developed to treat pain. Oxycodone was originally developed in Germany in 1917 from a synthesis of thebaine, an alkaloi...

barbiturate

(Encyclopedia)barbiturate bärbĭchˈərātˌ [key], any one of a group of drugs that act as depressants on the central nervous system. High doses depress both nerve and muscle activity and inhibit oxygen consumpti...