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aniline

(Encyclopedia)aniline ănˈəlĭn [key], C6H5NH2, colorless, oily, basic liquid organic compound; chemically, a primary aromatic amine whose molecule is formed by replacing one hydrogen atom of a benzene molecule w...

Bush, Vannevar

(Encyclopedia)Bush, Vannevar vănˈəvər [key], 1890–1974, American electrical engineer and physicist, b. Everett, Mass., grad. Tufts College (B.S., 1913). He went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ...

methadone

(Encyclopedia)methadone mĕthˈədōnˌ, –dŏnˌ [key], synthetic narcotic similar in effect to morphine. Synthesized in Germany, it came into clinical use after World War II. It is sometimes used as an analgesic...

Black, Sir James Whyte

(Encyclopedia)Black, Sir James Whyte, 1924–2010, Scottish pharmacologist, M.B., Ch.B. Univ. of St. Andrews, 1946. A drug researcher, he held a series of posts with universities and drug companies before serving a...

thalidomide

(Encyclopedia)thalidomide thəlĭdˈəmĭdˌ [key], sleep-inducing drug found to produce skeletal defects in developing fetuses. The drug was marketed in Europe, especially in West Germany and Britain, from 1957 to...

LSD

(Encyclopedia)LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide līˌsûrˈjĭk, dīˌĕthˈələmĭd, dīˌĕthəlămˈĭd [key], alkaloid synthesized from lysergic acid, which is found in the fungus ergot (Claviceps purpurea). I...

Antabuse

(Encyclopedia)Antabuse ănˈtəbyo͞os [key], trade name for the drug tetraethylthiuram disulfide, used in the treatment of alcoholism. Also called sulfiram, Antabuse is nontoxic, but it alters the metabolism of al...

placebo

(Encyclopedia)placebo pləsēˈbō [key], inert substance given instead of a potent drug. Placebo medications are sometimes prescribed when a drug is not really needed or when one would not be appropriate because t...

heroin

(Encyclopedia)heroin hĕˈrəwən [key], opiate drug synthesized from morphine (see narcotic). Originally produced in 1874, it was thought to be not only nonaddictive but useful as a cure for respiratory illness an...

tuberculosis

(Encyclopedia)tuberculosis (TB), contagious, wasting disease caused by any of several mycobacteria. The most common form of the disease is tuberculosis of the lungs (pulmonary consumption, or phthisis), but the int...