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climbing plant

(Encyclopedia)climbing plant, any plant that in growing to its full height requires some support. Climbing plants may clamber over a support (climbing rose), twine up a slender support (hop, honeysuckle), or grasp ...

Rocky Mountain spotted fever

(Encyclopedia)Rocky Mountain spotted fever, infectious disease caused by a rickettsia. The bacterium is harbored by wild rodents and other animals and is carried by infected ticks of several species that attach the...

sauce

(Encyclopedia)sauce, seasoning or flavoring composition, usually in liquid or semiliquid form, used as an appetizing accompaniment for meat, fish, vegetables, and desserts. Sauces, an important feature of quality c...

pleurisy

(Encyclopedia)pleurisy plo͝orˈĭsē [key], inflammation of the pleura (the membrane that covers the lungs and lines the chest cavity). It is sometimes accompanied by pain and coughing. The inflammation may be dry...

post-mortem examination

(Encyclopedia)post-mortem examination or autopsy, systematic examination of a cadaver for study or for determining the cause of death. Post-mortems use many methodical procedures to determine the etiology and patho...

pedophilia

(Encyclopedia)pedophilia, psychosexual disorder in which there is a preference for sexual activity with prepubertal children. Pedophiles are almost always males. The children are more often of the opposite sex (abo...

open enrollment

(Encyclopedia)open enrollment, a policy of admitting to college all high-school graduates in an effort to provide a higher education for all who desire it. To critics it means an inevitable lowering of standards as...

optician

(Encyclopedia)optician, filler of prescriptions for and dispenser of corrective lenses. An optician may grind lenses as instructed by the prescription of an optometrist (see optometry) or ophthalmologist (see ophth...

squinch

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Squinch squinch, in architecture, a piece of construction used for filling in the upper angles of a square room so as to form a proper base to receive an octagonal or spherical dome. It was th...

croup

(Encyclopedia)croup kro͞op [key], acute obstructive laryngitis in young children, usually between the ages of three and six. The manifestations are a high-pitched cough and difficulty in breathing, owing to a spas...
 

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