Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

sickle cell disease

(Encyclopedia)sickle cell disease or sickle cell anemia, inherited disorder of the blood in which the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin pigment in erythrocytes (red blood cells) is abnormal. This “hemoglobin-S” crysta...

birth defects

(Encyclopedia)birth defects, abnormalities in physical or mental structure or function that are present at birth. They range from minor to seriously deforming or life-threatening. A major defect of some type occurs...

anemia

(Encyclopedia)anemia ənēˈmēə [key], condition in which the concentration of hemoglobin in the circulating blood is below normal. Such a condition is caused by a deficient number of erythrocytes (red blood cell...

Chagas' disease

(Encyclopedia)Chagas' disease, disease of South and Central America caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. It usually affects children and young adults and is transmitted by the feces of infected insects, typica...

hemoglobin

(Encyclopedia)hemoglobin hēˈməglōˌbĭn [key], respiratory protein found in the red blood cells (erythrocytes) of all vertebrates and some invertebrates. A hemoglobin molecule is composed of a protein group, kn...

lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's

(Encyclopedia)lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's, any cancer of the lymphoid tissue (see lymphatic system) in which the Reed-Sternberg cells characteristic of Hodgkin's disease (the other category of lymphoma) are not present...

genetic testing

(Encyclopedia)genetic testing, medical screening for genetic disorders, by examining either a person's DNA directly or a person's biochemistry or chromosomes for indirect evidence. Testing may be done to identify a...

Trudeau, Edward Livingston

(Encyclopedia)Trudeau, Edward Livingston tro͞oˈdō [key], 1848–1915, American physician, b. New York City, M.D. Columbia, 1871. As a result of taking care of his brother, who had tuberculosis, he developed the ...

lung cancer

(Encyclopedia)lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs aft...

monoclonal antibody

(Encyclopedia)monoclonal antibody, an antibody that is mass produced in the laboratory from a single clone and that recognizes only one antigen. Monoclonal antibodies are typically made by fusing a normally short-l...
 

Browse by Subject