Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Jex-Blake, Sophia

(Encyclopedia)Jex-Blake, Sophia, 1840–1912, English physician, active in opening the medical profession to women in England. A graduate of Queen's College, London, she began (1866) her medical studies in the Unit...

genetic testing

(Encyclopedia)genetic testing, medical screening for genetic disorders, by examining either a person's DNA directly or a person's biochemistry or chromosomes for indirect evidence. Testing may be done to identify a...

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

(Encyclopedia)International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), worldwide organization of medical groups dedicated to eliminating nuclear weapons and preventing nuclear war, est. 1980. Based in Ca...

Williams, William Carlos

(Encyclopedia)Williams, William Carlos, 1883–1963, American poet and physician, b. Rutherford, N.J., educated in Geneva, Switzerland, Univ. of Pennsylvania (M.D., 1906), and Univ. of Leipzig, where he studied ped...

ultrasonics

(Encyclopedia)ultrasonics, study and application of the energy of sound waves vibrating at frequencies greater than 20,000 cycles per second, i.e., beyond the range of human hearing. The application of sound energy...

radioactive isotope

(Encyclopedia)radioactive isotope or radioisotope, natural or artificially created isotope of a chemical element having an unstable nucleus that decays, emitting alpha, beta, or gamma rays until stability is reache...

herbicide

(Encyclopedia)herbicide hrˈbəsīdˌ [key], chemical compound that kills plants or inhibits their normal growth. A herbicide in a particular formulation and application can be described as selective or nonselectiv...

numeration

(Encyclopedia)numeration, in mathematics, process of designating numbers according to any particular system; the number designations are in turn called numerals. In any place value system of numeration, a base numb...

malpractice

(Encyclopedia)malpractice, failure to provide professional services with the skill usually exhibited by responsible and careful members of the profession, resulting in injury, loss, or damage to the party contracti...

Shippen, William, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Shippen, William, Jr., 1736–1808, American surgeon, b. Philadelphia, M.D. Edinburgh, 1761. A pioneer lecturer on anatomy and midwifery, he was instrumental in the organization (1765) at the College ...