GLOSSARY OF SCIENTIFIC TERMS 



(Generic and specific names are not included. For names of phyla, classes, 

 and orders, see pages 235 to 249.) 



A 



Abdo'men (Lat. abdomen, belly) : the posterior region of the body of an insect ; 



the region of the body below the chest in man. 

 Absorp'tion (Lat. absorber e, to swallow down) : the process of taking up liquid 



food or other substances through the walls of cells. 

 Adapta'tion (Lat. adaptare, to fit) : fitness for surroundings ; fitness to do a 



certain kind of work ; changes which a plant or an animal has undergone 



that fit it for the conditions in which it lives. 

 Ad'enoids : fleshy growths in the back of the nose cavity which clog the air 



Adult' : grown to full size and maturity. 



Adul'terant : a substance put in another to cheapen it ; usually reducing its 



' strength or otherwise injuring it. 

 Aero'bic organisms : bacteria or other organisms which require free oxygen, 



as opposed to anaerobic organisms (bacteria and some parasitic worms) 



which do not require free oxygen. 

 Agglu'tinins (Lat. agglutinare, to glue to) : antibodies found in blood which 



cause bacteria to be clumped together, preparatory to their destruction 



by the colorless corpuscles. 

 Albu'min : a protein forming an important part of the blood and found also 



in many animal and vegetable substances. 

 Alimen'tary canal (Lat. alimentum, food) : the food tube. 

 Altema'tion of generations : the alternating of a sexual with an asexual genera- 

 tion in the life-history of a plant or an animal. 

 Am'ino-acid : a fragment of a complex protein ; one of the simpler substances 



into which a protein may be broken down in the body. 

 Anal'Dgy : likeness in function. 

 Anten'na (pi. Antennae) (Lat. antenna, a sailyard) : a jointed feeler on the 



head of an insect or of a crustacean. 

 Ante'rior (Lat. anterior, former) : nearer the head end (Zool.) ; facing outward 



from the axis (Bot.). 

 An'ther (Gr. antheros, flowery) : the part of the stamen which develops and 



contains pollen. 

 An'tibodies : substances found in the blood which fight against bacteria or 



prevent them from harming the body. 



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