Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) maté yĕrˈbä, –bə [key], or Paraguay tea, evergreen tree (Ilex paraguariensis) of the family Aquifoliaceae (holly family). From ancient times Native Americans and now millions of Argentines and ...

(Encyclopedia) pharynx fârˈĭngks [key], area of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts which lies between the mouth and the esophagus. In humans, the pharynx is a cone-shaped tube about 41⁄2 in. (11.43 cm)...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Scottish bagpipe bagpipe, musical instrument whose ancient origin was probably in Mesopotamia from which it was carried east and west by Celtic migrations. It was used in ancient Greece and Ro...

(Encyclopedia) firearm, device consisting essentially of a straight tube to propel shot, shell, or bullets by the explosion of gunpowder. Although the Chinese discovered gunpowder as early as the 9th cent., they did...

(Encyclopedia) appendix, small, worm-shaped blind tube, about 3 in. (7.6 cm) long and 1⁄4 in. to 1 in. (.64–2.54 cm) thick, projecting from the cecum (part of the large intestine) on the right side of the lower ...

(Encyclopedia) shock absorber, device for reducing the effect of a sudden shock by the dissipation of the shock's energy. On an automobile, springs and shock absorbers are mounted between the wheels and the frame. W...

(Encyclopedia) stethoscope stĕthˈəskōpˌ [key] [Gr.,=chest viewer], instrument that enables the physican to hear the sounds made by the heart, the lungs, and various other organs. The earliest stethoscope, devis...

(Encyclopedia) transit instrument or transit, telescope devised to observe stars as they cross the meridian and used for determining time. Its viewing tube swings on a rigid horizontal axis restricting its movements...

(Encyclopedia) neon nēˈŏn [key] [Gr.,=new], gaseous chemical element; symbol Ne; at. no. 10; at. wt. 20.1797; m.p. −248.67℃; b.p. −246.048℃; density 0.8999 grams per liter at STP; valence 0. Neon is a col...

(Encyclopedia) ovary, ductless gland of the female in which the ova (female reproductive cells) are produced. In vertebrate animals the ovary also secretes the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone, which control t...