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plastic

(Encyclopedia)plastic, any organic material with the ability to flow into a desired shape when heat and pressure are applied to it and to retain the shape when they are withdrawn. The first important plastic, cel...

Giry, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Giry, Arthur ärtürˈ zhērēˈ [key], 1848–99, French historian. His Manuel de diplomatique (new ed. 1925) remains a standard work on the scientific study of documents. ...

variable star

(Encyclopedia)variable star, star that varies, either periodically or irregularly, in the intensity of the light it emits. Other physical changes are usually correlated with the fluctuations in brightness, such as ...

circulatory system

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Circulatory system circulatory system, group of organs that transport blood and the substances it carries to and from all parts of the body. The circulatory system can be considered as compose...

respiration

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Respiratory system respiration, process by which an organism exchanges gases with its environment. The term now refers to the overall process by which oxygen is abstracted from air and is tran...

spinal puncture

(Encyclopedia)spinal puncture, surgical penetration of the spinal canal by a hollow needle introduced between two of the lumbar vertebrae. The arrangement permits injection of antibiotics or anesthetics (see anesth...

Friedmann, Meir

(Encyclopedia)Friedmann, Meir mīˈər frētˈmän [key], 1831–1908, Hungarian Jewish scholar. He made important contributions in the field of scientific criticism of rabbinical texts. Friedmann's editions of the...

Cary, Henry Francis

(Encyclopedia)Cary, Henry Francis, 1772–1844, English translator. A graduate of Christ Church College, Oxford, he was assistant librarian in the British Museum from 1826 to 1837. He translated several classical w...

Abbott, Edwin Abbott

(Encyclopedia)Abbott, Edwin Abbott, 1838–1926, English clergyman and author, b. London. He wrote several theological works and a biography (1885) of Francis Bacon, but he is best known for his standard Shakespear...

Esdras

(Encyclopedia)Esdras ĕzˈdrəs [key] [Gr. from Heb. Ezra], name of several books found in the Old Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. The New Revised Standard Version (following the Authorized Version) maintai...