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pneumonia

(Encyclopedia)pneumonia no͝omōnˈyə [key], acute infection of one or both lungs that can be caused by a bacterium, usually Streptococcus pneumoniae (also called pneumococcus; see streptococcus), or by a virus, f...

psittacosis

(Encyclopedia)psittacosis sĭtəkōˈsĭs [key] or parrot fever, infectious disease caused by the species of Chlamydia psittaci and transmitted to people by birds, particularly parrots, parakeets, and lovebirds. In...

SARS

(Encyclopedia)SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome, communicable viral disease that can progress to a potentially fatal pneumonia. The first symptoms of SARS are usually a high fever, headache and body aches, ...

empyema

(Encyclopedia)empyema ĕmpē-ēˈmə [key], persistent purulent discharge into a cavity such as the pleural space or the gallbladder. Empyema results as a complication of bacterial infections such as pneumonia and ...

McCrae, John

(Encyclopedia)McCrae, John məkrāˈ [key], 1872–1918, Canadian physician and poet. His famous poem “In Flanders Fields,” written under fire during World War I, was published anonymously in Punch in 1915 and ...

Addison, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Addison, Thomas, 1793–1860, English physician, b. near Newcastle, grad. Univ. of Edinburgh (M.D., 1815). In 1837 he became a physician at Guy's Hospital, London, where he conducted important researc...

tracheotomy

(Encyclopedia)tracheotomy trākēŏtˈəmē [key], surgical incision into the trachea, or windpipe. The operation is performed when the windpipe has become blocked, e.g., by the presence of some foreign object or b...

erysipelas

(Encyclopedia)erysipelas ĕrəsĭpˈələs [key], acute infection of the skin characterized by a sharply demarcated, shiny red swelling, accompanied by high fever and a feeling of general illness. The causative age...

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