inflammation of the heart lining, or endocardium. Endocarditis is caused by any of a number of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, rickettsias, and possibly viruses, that enter the bloodstream and become trapped in the heart. The disease is characterized by the ...
any of the systems found in animals for the production of hormones, substances that regulate the functioning of the organism. Such a system may range, at its simplest, from the neurosecretory, involving one or more centres in the nervous system, ...
group of ductless glands that regulate body processes by their secretion of chemical substances called hormones, which are carried to specific target organs and tissues by the bloodstream. Diseases of the endocrine system result from too much or too little ...
medical discipline dealing with the role of hormones and other biochemical mediators in regulating bodily functions and with the treatment of imbalances of these hormones. Although some endocrine diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, have been known since antiquity, endocrinology itself ...
the innermost of the three germ layers, or masses of cells (lying within ectoderm and mesoderm), which appears early in the development of an animal embryo. The endoderm subsequently gives rise to the epithelium (tissue that covers, or lines, a ...
in dentistry, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases of the dental pulp and the surrounding tissues. (The dental pulp is soft tissue in the centre of the tooth; it contains the nerve, blood and lymphatic vessels, and connective tissue.)
disorder of the female reproductive system characterized by the growth of endometrial tissue (uterine lining) in an abnormal location. The condition is more common in those who are childless.
inflammation of the endometrium, the mucous lining of the uterus. Endometritis is most commonly caused by infection with sexually transmitted organisms such as Chlamydia (and in these cases is known as pelvic inflammatory disease). The condition may ...
a human physical type (somatotype) tending toward roundness, as determined by the physique classification system developed by American psychologist W.H. Sheldon. The extreme endomorph has a body as nearly globular as humanly possible; he has a round head, a large, ...
in biology, a highly convoluted membrane within the cytoplasm of a eukaryotic cell that is important in the biosynthesis of proteins and lipids. The ER usually constitutes more than half of the membrane of the cell and is continuous with ...
in the Old Testament (1 Samuel 28:3-25), a female sorcerer who was visited by Saul, the first king of Israel. Although Saul had banished all sorcerers and conjurers from his kingdom, his concern about the final outcome of Israel's battle ...
any of a group of opiate proteins with pain-relieving properties that are found naturally in the brain. The main substances identified as endorphins include the enkephalins, beta-endorphin, and dynorphin, which were discovered in the 1970s by Roger Guillemin and other ...
medical examination of the interior of the body, usually through a natural body opening, by the insertion of a flexible, lighted optical shaft or open tube. Instruments used include the endoscope, a flexible tube for examination of the esophagus, stomach, ...
tissue that surrounds and nourishes the embryo in the angiosperm seed. The initiation of endosperm is a definitive characteristic of angiosperms and requires the fusion of at least one nucleus in the embryo sac with a sperm nucleus from the ...
toxic substance bound to the bacterial cell wall and released when the bacterium ruptures or disintegrates. Endotoxins consist of lipopolysaccharide and lipoprotein complexes. The protein component determines its foreign (antigenic) nature; the polysaccharide component determines the antibody type that can ...
in Greek mythology, a beautiful youth who spent much of his life in perpetual sleep. Endymion's parentage varies among the different ancient references and stories, but several traditions say that he was originally the king of Elis. According to one ...
Russian aerospace company that is a major producer of spacecraft, launch vehicles, rocket stages, and missiles. It built the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile and the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, and pioneered the development and operation of Soviet space stations ...
in physics, the capacity for doing work. It may exist in potential, kinetic, thermal, electrical, chemical, nuclear, or other various forms. There are, moreover, heat and work-i.e., energy in the process of transfer from one body to another. After it ...
in physics, any discrete value from a set of values of total energy for a subatomic particle confined by a force to a limited space or for a system of such particles, such as an atom or a nucleus. A ...
principle of physics according to which the energy of interacting bodies or particles in a closed system remains constant. The first kind of energy to be recognized was kinetic energy, or energy of motion. In certain particle collisions, called elastic, ...
law of statistical mechanics stating that, in a system in thermal equilibrium, on the average, an equal amount of energy will be associated with each independent energy state. Based on the work of physicists James Clerk Maxwell of Scotland and ...
atoll, northwestern end of the Ralik chain, Republic of the Marshall Islands, in the western Pacific Ocean. Circular in shape (50 miles [80 km] in circumference), it comprises 40 islets around a lagoon 23 miles (37 km) in diameter. During ...
(French: Carefree Children), one of the largest of the societes joyeuses of medieval France, an association of the merchants, craftsmen, and students of Paris, founded for the purpose of staging theatrical entertainments and other amusements. Such societies are thought to ...
outer borough of London, on its northern perimeter, in the historic county of Middlesex. The eastern part of the borough lies in the valley of the River Lea; the western part is higher and includes the undulating farmland and parkland ...
town (township), Hartford county, northern Connecticut, U.S., on the Connecticut River at the Massachusetts border. It includes the industrial subdivisions of Thompsonville and Hazardville. The area was settled by a group from Salem, Massachusetts, in 1680 and was named for ...
province (established in 1978), west central Papua New Guinea, in the southwestern Pacific. It has an area of 4,900 square miles (12,800 square km) and was separated from the Western Highlands district in 1973. Located northeast of the Southern Highlands ...
Swiss portion of the upper Inn (Romansh En) River valley, in Graubunden canton, extending about 60 mi (100 km) from the Inn's source near the Maloja Pass (5,955 ft [1,815 m]) northeast to Finstermunz (3,621 ft), near the Austrian border. ...
German statistician remembered for the "Engel curve," or Engel's law, which states that the lower a family's income, the greater is the proportion of it spent on food. His conclusion was based on a budget study of 153 Belgian families ...
American inventor whose work beginning in the 1950s led to his patent for the computer mouse, the development of the basic graphical user interface, and groupware.
U.S. botanist, physician, and meteorologist who is known primarily for his botanical monographs, especially one on the cactus and also A Monography of North American Cuscutinae (1842).
city, Saratov oblast (province), western Russia. The city is situated on the left bank of the Volga River, opposite Saratov, to which it is connected by a highway bridge (completed 1965). Founded in 1747 as Pokrovskaya sloboda (military settlement), the ...
German Socialist philosopher, the closest collaborator of Karl Marx in the foundation of modern Communism. They co-authored the Communist Manifesto (1848), and Engels edited the second and third volumes of Das Kapital after Marx's death.
island in the Indian Ocean, off the southwestern coast of Sumatra, Bengkulu provinsi ("province"), Indonesia. Enggano lies about 110 miles (177 km) south of Bengkulu city. It is about 22 miles (35 km) long east-west and 10 miles (16 km) ...
German faience ewer with an ovoid body and a long narrow neck, which has a hinged pewter lid, a slight lip, and a broad foot, usually bound with a ring of pewter. After having been developed as a specialty at ...
municipality, Hainaut province, southwest-central Belgium, 16 miles (26 km) southwest of Brussels. Established in the 11th century and a French possession until 1606, it was a medieval commercial centre noted for its tapestry. Modern industries include lace making and linen ...
a machine that can convert any of various forms of energy into mechanical power or motion. See diesel engine; gasoline engine; internal-combustion engine; jet engine; rocket; rotary engine; steam engine.
the application of science to the optimum conversion of the resources of nature to the uses of humankind. The field has been defined by the Engineers Council for Professional Development, in the United States, as the creative application of "scientific ...
the scientific discipline concerned with the application of geological knowledge to engineering problems-e.g., to reservoir design and location, determination of slope stability for construction purposes, and determination of earthquake, flood, or subsidence danger in areas considered for roads, pipelines, or ...
English national church that traces its history back to the arrival of Christianity in Britain during the 2nd century; it has been the original church of the Anglican Communion (q.v.) since the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. As the successor of the ...
Irish-born American Roman Catholic prelate who became the first bishop of Charleston and who founded the first Roman Catholic newspaper in the United States.
