Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) epithelium ĕpˌəthēˈlēəm [key], sheet of tissue that covers or lines the external and internal body surfaces. The epithelium is closely packed, has little intercellular material, and is lacking ...

(Encyclopedia) guilt, in psychology, a term denoting an unpleasant feeling associated with unfulfilled wishes. Sigmund Freud initially contended that sexual drives produce sense of guilt in the superego, the moral c...

(Encyclopedia) eye bank, site for the collection, processing, and assignment of donated eyes. A donor's eyes are removed as soon as possible after death, sealed in a sterile container, and sent to the eye bank. Ther...

(Encyclopedia) Hor-hagidgad hôr-həgĭdˈgăd [key], in the Bible, wilderness camp of the Israelites. The camping place called Gudgodah may have been the same. ...

(Encyclopedia) Eglaim ĕgˈlāĭm, ēglāˈĭm [key], in the Bible, place E of the Dead Sea. It may be the same as the otherwise unidentified En-Eglaim. ...

(Encyclopedia) military law, system of rules established for the government of persons in the armed forces. In most countries the legislature establishes the code of military law. It is distinguished from both marti...

(Encyclopedia) cricket, ball-and-bat game played chiefly in Great Britain and the Commonwealth countries. In the early 21st cent., Twenty20, a new version of cricket with a much faster, more compressed format, eme...

(Encyclopedia) syphilis sĭfˈəlĭs [key], contagious sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum (described by Fritz Schaudinn and Erich Hoffmann in 1905). Syphilis was not widely reco...

(Encyclopedia) Baca bāˈkə [key], in the Bible, allegorical name of a valley. The English expression “vale (or valley) of tears” may be a translation of this, through the Vulgate. ...

(Encyclopedia) golden parachute, a contract given to top executives of a corporation to provide benefits in case of job loss due to a takeover by another firm or a merger. The unusually generous benefits may include...