Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

97 results found

mastitis

(Encyclopedia)mastitis măstīˈtĭs [key], inflammation of the breast. Mastitis most commonly occurs in nursing mothers between the first and third weeks after childbirth, usually of the first child. It is an infe...

Rachel, French actress

(Encyclopedia)Rachel ālēˈzä fālēksˈ [key], 1821–58, French actress, b. Switzerland. Exploited by her father in her childhood, she sang in the streets with her sister Sarah. In Paris, showing great promise ...

giant pouched rat

(Encyclopedia)giant pouched rat, terrestrial African rodent of the genus Cricetomys. Found in a wide variety of habitats, including farmland, in sub-Saharan Africa north of South Africa, giant pouched rats resemble...

Rodgers, Jimmie

(Encyclopedia)Rodgers, Jimmie (James Charles Rodgers), 1897–1933, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter often called “the father of country music,” b. Meri...

Modigliani, Amedeo

(Encyclopedia)Modigliani, Amedeo ämādĕˈō mōdēlyäˈnē [key], 1884–1920, Italian painter, b. Livorno. In Paris after 1906, Modigliani first worked as a sculptor and was influenced by the works of Constanti...

paraplegia

(Encyclopedia)paraplegia pârˌəplēˈjēə [key], paralysis of the lower part of the body, commonly affecting both legs and often internal organs below the waist. When both legs and arms are affected, the conditi...

Beardsley, Aubrey Vincent

(Encyclopedia)Beardsley, Aubrey Vincent ôˈbrē, bĭrdzˈlē [key], 1872–98, English illustrator and writer, b. Brighton. Beardsley exemplifies the aesthetic movement in English art of the 1890s (see decadents)....

veterinary medicine

(Encyclopedia)veterinary medicine, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of animals. An early interest in animal diseases is found in ancient Greek writings on medicine. Veterinary medicine began to achieve the statu...

Aalto, Alvar

(Encyclopedia)Aalto, Alvar ŏlˈvär älˈtō [key], 1898–1976, Finnish architect and furniture designer. Aalto is considered one of the foremost architects of the 20th cent. Most of his designs were made in coll...

clinic

(Encyclopedia)clinic, name for an institution providing medical diagnosis and treatment for ambulatory patients. The forerunner of the modern clinic was the dispensary, which dispensed free drugs and served only th...

Browse by Subject