Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) menopause klīmăkˈtərĭk, klīˌmăktĕrˈĭk [key], transitional phase in a woman's life when the ovaries stop releasing eggs, ovarian production of estrogen and other hormones tapers off, and men...

(Encyclopedia) breast cancer, cancer that originates in the breast. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women (following lung cancer). Although the vast majority of the cases occur in women,...

(Encyclopedia) locoweed or crazyweed [Span. loco=crazy], any of several American species of the genera Astragalus and Oxytropus, north-temperate leguminous plants of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), that, when...

(Encyclopedia) pasteurization păsˌcho͝orĭzāˈshən, –rīzāˈshən [key], partial sterilization of liquids such as milk, orange juice, wine, and beer, as well as cheese, to destroy disease-causing and other u...

(Encyclopedia) Müller, Paul Hermann mŭlˈər [key], 1899–1965, Swiss chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Basel, 1925. He worked as a research scientist with J. R. Geigy A.G. in Basel, Switzerland. Muller won the 1948 Nobel...

(Encyclopedia) malnutrition, insufficiency of one or more nutritional elements necessary for health and well-being. Primary malnutrition is caused by the lack of essential foodstuffs—usually vitamins, minerals, or...

(Encyclopedia) irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), condition characterized by constipation, diarrhea, or alternating constipation and diarrhea in the absence of any disease process. It is usually accompanied by abdomina...

(Encyclopedia) isoniazid īˌsōnīˈəzĭd [key], drug used to treat tuberculosis. Also known as isonicotinic acid hydrazide, isoniazid is the most effective antituberculosis drug currently available. The drug inhi...

(Encyclopedia) Nicolson, Marjorie Hope, 1894–1981, American educator, b. Yonkers, N.Y., grad. Univ. of Michigan (B.A., 1914; M.A., 1918) and Yale (Ph.D., 1920). She was dean and professor at Smith from 1929 to 194...

(Encyclopedia) bacillus bəsĭlˈəs [key], any rod-shaped bacterium or, more particularly, a rod-shaped bacterium of the genus Bacillus. Some bacterium in the genus cause disease, for example B. anthracis is the ca...