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antitoxin
antitoxin any of a group of antibodies formed in the body as a response to the introduction of poisonous products, or toxins . By introducing small amounts of a specific toxin into the healthy body, it is possible to stimulate the production of antitoxin so that the body's defenses are already est...
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fever
fever elevation of body temperature above the normal level, which in humans is about 98°F (37°C) when measured orally. Fever is considered to be a symptom of a disorder rather than a disease in itself. Under normal conditions the heat that is generated by the burning of food by the body is ...
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sweat
sweat or perspiration, fluid secreted by the sweat glands of mammalian skin and containing water, salts, and waste products of body metabolism such as urea. The dissolved solid content of sweat is only one eighth that of an equal volume of urine, the body's main vehicle of salt excretion; howev...
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body snatching
body snatching the stealing of corpses from graves and morgues. Before cadavers were legally available for dissection and study by medical students, traffic in stolen bodies was profitable. Those who engaged in the illicit practice were sometimes called resurrectionists; they were active from about...
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pus
pus thick white or yellowish fluid that forms in areas of infection such as wounds and abscesses. It is constituted of decomposed body tissue, bacteria (or other micro-organisms that cause the infection), and certain white blood cells. These white cells form one of the defense mechanisms of the bod...
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tryptophan
tryptophan , organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l -stereoisomer appears in mammalian protein. It is one of several essential amino acids needed in the diet; human beings cannot synthesize it from simpler metabolites. Young adults require abou...
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typhus
typhus any of a group of infectious diseases caused by microorganisms classified between bacteria and viruses, known as rickettsias. Typhus diseases are characterized by high fever and an early onset of rash and headache. They respond to antibiotic treatment with tetracycline and chloramphenicol an...
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glanders
glanders highly contagious disease of horses, mules, and donkeys, caused by the bacterium Actinobacillus mallei. Although it can be transmitted to humans, it is limited almost exclusively to handlers of equine animals. The disease causes death in infected animals or humans. Glanders has been virt...
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antibody
antibody protein produced by the immune system (see immunity ) in response to the presence in the body of antigens: foreign proteins or polysaccharides such as bacteria, bacterial toxins , viruses, or other cells or proteins. Such antigens are capable of inflicting damage by chemically combining ...
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threonine
threonine , organic compound, one of the 22 α- amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l -stereoisomer appears in mammalian protein. It is one of several essential amino acids needed in the diet; human beings cannot synthesize it from simpler metabolites. Young adults need ...
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