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mandrake

(Encyclopedia) mandrake, plant of the family Solanaceae (nightshade family), the source of a narcotic much used during the Middle Ages as a pain-killer and perhaps the subject of more superstition…

couvade

(Encyclopedia) couvadecouvadek&oomacr;vädˈ [key], imitation by the father of many of the concomitants of childbirth, at the time of his wife's parturition. The father may retire into seclusion as…

Gaucher's disease

(Encyclopedia) Gaucher's diseaseGaucher's diseasegōshāzˈ [key], rare genetic disease involving a deficiency of an enzyme, glucocerebrosidase, which normally breaks down certain body glycolipids (i.e…

Bentham, Jeremy

(Encyclopedia) Bentham, Jeremy, 1748–1832, English philosopher, jurist, political theorist, and founder of utilitarianism. Educated at Oxford, he was trained as a lawyer and was admitted to the bar,…

riot, rout, and unlawful assembly

(Encyclopedia) riot, rout, and unlawful assembly, in law, varying degrees of concerted disturbance of the peace. At common law, an unlawful assembly is a gathering of at least three persons whose…

placebo

(Encyclopedia) placeboplacebopləsēˈbō [key], inert substance given instead of a potent drug. Placebo medications are sometimes prescribed when a drug is not really needed or when one would not be…

gonorrhea

(Encyclopedia) gonorrheagonorrheagŏnərēˈə [key], common infectious disease caused by a bacterium (Neisseria gonorrhoeae), involving chiefly the mucous membranes of the genitourinary tract. It may…

glaucoma

(Encyclopedia) glaucomaglaucomaglôkōˈmə [key], ocular disorder characterized by pressure within the eyeball caused by an excessive amount of aqueous humor (the fluid substance filling the eyeball).…

Ignatieff, Michael Grant

(Encyclopedia) Ignatieff, Michael GrantIgnatieff, Michael Grantĭgnătˈēəf [key], 1947–, Canadian politician, writer, and academic, b. Toronto, B.A. Univ. of Toronto (1969), Ph.D. Harvard (1976), M.A.…

Kahlo, Frida

(Encyclopedia) Kahlo, FridaKahlo, Fridafrēˈdä käˈlō [key], 1907–54, Mexican painter, b. Coyoacán as Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón. As a result of an accident at age 15, Kahlo turned her…