Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) biopsy bīäpˈsē [key], examination of cells or tissues removed from a living organism. Excised material may be studied in order to diagnose disease or to confirm findings of normality. Preparatory ...

(Encyclopedia) acromegaly ăkˌrōmĕgˈəlē [key], adult endocrine disorder resulting from hypersecretion of growth hormone produced by the pituitary gland. Since the bones cannot increase in length after full gro...

(Encyclopedia) Darién Scheme, Scottish project to establish a colony on the Isthmus of Panama (Darién). In 1695, the Scottish Parliament passed an act that chartered a company for trading with Africa and the Indie...

(Encyclopedia) Bourke-White, Margaret bûrkˈ hwīt [key], 1904–71, American photo-journalist, b. New York City. One of the original staff photographers at Fortune, Life, and Time magazines, Bourke-White was noted...

(Encyclopedia) Campbell, Glen Travis, 1936–2017, American country singer-songwriter, b. Billstown, Ark. A performing musician by age 14, he moved in 1960 to Los Angeles, where he worked in rock and roll bands and ...

(Encyclopedia) insect repellent, substance applied to the skin in order to provide protection against biting insects, primarily mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, fleas, and certain flies. The most effective such substanc...

(Encyclopedia) flat foot, condition of the human foot in which the entire sole rests on the ground when the person is standing. When the foot muscles are weakened or the ligaments are strained and stretched, the arc...

(Encyclopedia) Fort-de-France fôr-də-fräNs [key], city, capital of the French overseas dept. of Martinique, West Indies. It is a ...

(Encyclopedia) Kali käˈlē [key] [Hindi,=the Black One], important goddess in popular Hinduism and Tantra. Known also as Durga [the Inaccessible] and as Chandi [the Fierce], Kali is associated with disease, death,...

(Encyclopedia) Zinsser, Hans zĭnsˈər [key], 1878–1940, American bacteriologist, b. New York City, grad. Columbia (B.A., 1899; M.D., 1903). He was professor of bacteriology at Stanford (1911–13), Columbia (191...