• FFC (French history)

    Free French, in World War II (1939–45), members of a movement for the continuation of warfare against Germany after the military collapse of Metropolitan France in the summer of 1940. Led by General Charles de Gaulle, the Free French were eventually able to unify most French resistance forces in

  • FFI (French history)

    Free French, in World War II (1939–45), members of a movement for the continuation of warfare against Germany after the military collapse of Metropolitan France in the summer of 1940. Led by General Charles de Gaulle, the Free French were eventually able to unify most French resistance forces in

  • Fflint, Sir (county, Wales, United Kingdom)

    Flintshire, county in the northeastern corner of Wales, bounded on the east by the River Dee and England and bounded on the west by Denbighshire. The present county of Flintshire encompasses an area along the lower Dee and the Dee estuary and extends inland to the Clwydian Range. The historic

  • Ffrangcon-Davies, Dame Gwen (British actress)

    Dame Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies was an English actress who became a legend on the classical British stage during her 80-year-long acting career. After she made her debut in a walk-on part in A Midsummer Nights’ Dream (1911), Ffrangcon-Davies played bit parts and sang in the chorus. By 1921 she was

  • FFRDC (United States organization)

    FFRDC, any of approximately 40 organizations that assist the U.S. government with scientific research and analysis, development and acquisition of new technologies, and systems engineering and integration. FFRDCs are sponsored by government agencies and administered by colleges and universities,

  • FFS (training instrument)

    aerospace industry: Tertiary systems: Two basic classes exist: full flight simulators (FFSs) and flight training devices (FTDs). FFSs are complex machines that consist of a cockpit, motion system, and visual system controlled by high-speed computers. Some models provide such realism that pilots can make the transition to a new model of aircraft solely…

  • FFT (mathematics)

    Auto-Tune: How Auto-Tune works: …the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to break down complex sound waves into their constituent individual pitches. If the software detects a pitch that does not match with a predefined or desired pitch, it shifts the pitch to match.

  • FFV (automobile)

    automobile: Ethanol and fuel cells: …the country had to be FlexFuel vehicles (FFVs)—vehicles certified to run on gasoline containing up to 85 percent ethanol (ethyl alcohol), marketed as E85. This initiative led numerous American, European, and Japanese manufacturers to certify some of their models as E85-compliant, which is indicated by the eighth character in the…

  • fGardner, Howard (American psychologist)

    Howard Gardner is an American cognitive psychologist and author, best known for his theory of multiple intelligences. First presented in Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983) and subsequently refined and extended in Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice (1993),

  • FGC (ritual surgical procedure)

    female genital cutting (FGC), ritual surgical procedure that is traditional in some societies. FGC has been practiced by a wide variety of cultures and as a result includes a number of related procedures and social meanings. The term female genital cutting refers to a wide continuum of procedures

  • FGD (technology)

    air pollution control: Flue gas desulfurization: …of an absorption process called flue gas desulfurization (FGD). FGD systems may involve wet scrubbing or dry scrubbing. In wet FGD systems, flue gases are brought in contact with an absorbent, which can be either a liquid or a slurry of solid material. The sulfur dioxide dissolves in or reacts…

  • FGM (ritual surgical procedure)

    female genital cutting (FGC), ritual surgical procedure that is traditional in some societies. FGC has been practiced by a wide variety of cultures and as a result includes a number of related procedures and social meanings. The term female genital cutting refers to a wide continuum of procedures

  • FHA (United States government agency)

    Federal Housing Administration (FHA), agency within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that was established by the National Housing Act on June 27, 1934 to facilitate home financing, improve housing standards, and increase employment in the home-construction industry in the

  • FHEO (United States government)

    Fair Housing Act: …Fair Housing Act, and the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) is charged with investigating complaints of discrimination filed with HUD. The FHEO determines if reasonable cause exists to believe that a discriminatory housing practice has occurred. If reasonable cause is found, a hearing is scheduled before a…

  • FHFA (United States government agency)

    The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is a U.S. government agency created by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA). Its main role is to provide oversight of mortgage and housing credit government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), specifically the Federal National Mortgage Association

  • FHI (sports organization)

    weightlifting: History: …the International Olympic Committee, the International Weightlifting Federation (Fédération Haltérophile Internationale; FHI) was formed to regularize events and supervise international competition. By 1928 the one- and two-hand lifts of earlier Games had given way to only two-hand lifts: the snatch, the clean and jerk, and the clean and press (described…

  • Fhine Gall (county, Ireland)

    Fingal, county in the province of Leinster, eastern Ireland. The county of Fingal was created in 1994 when the geographic county of Dublin was split administratively into three separate units. Fingal now constitutes the northern component of the Greater Dublin metropolitan area. Swords is the

  • FHLMC (American corporation)

    Freddie Mac (FHLMC), federally chartered private corporation created by the U.S. Congress in 1970 to provide continuous and affordable home financing. It is one of several government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) established since the early 20th century to help reduce the cost of credit to various

  • FI (political party, Italy)

    National Alliance: …newly formed centre-right parties, the Forza Italia and the Northern League, in an alliance that was swept to power in parliamentary elections in March 1994, when the National Alliance captured 13.5 percent of the vote and was awarded six cabinet posts. Though the governing coalition was short-lived, the National Alliance…

  • Fi 103 (military technology)

    V-1 missile, German jet-propelled missile of World War II, the forerunner of modern cruise missiles. More than 8,000 V-1s were launched against London from June 13, 1944, to March 29, 1945, with about 2,400 hitting the target area. A smaller number were fired against Belgium. The rockets were

  • Fi 156 Storch (aircraft)

    Gerhard Fieseler: …he became most famous, the Fi 156 Storch. Some 3,000 were manufactured, of which several are still flying.

  • Fi al-shiʾr al-Jāhilī (work by Ṭāhā Ḥusayn)

    Ṭāhā Ḥusayn: …of modern critical methods in Fi al-shiʾr al-jāhilī (1926; “On Pre-Islamic Poetry”) embroiled him in fierce polemics. In this book he contended that a great deal of the poetry reputed to be pre-Islamic had been forged by Muslims of a later date for various reasons, one being to give credence…

  • FIA (sports organization)

    24 Hours of Le Mans: …eight races that compose the International Automobile Federation (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile; FIA) World Endurance Championship.

  • FIAB (international organization)

    library: Associations and international organizations: The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA; Fédération Internationale des Associations de Bibliothécaires et des Bibliothèques, or FIAB) was founded in 1927 and first met formally in Rome in 1928. The organization publishes the IFLA Journal.

  • fiacre (coach)

    fiacre, French coach for hire, named for the Hôtel Saint-Fiacre, in Paris, where it was introduced in the 1640s. The first fiacres were boxlike, four-wheeled, open, hooded vehicles that were drawn by three horses and were designed to navigate the muddy Parisian streets. In 1794 about 800 were in

  • FIAF (archives)

    film: Preservation of film: An international federation (FIAF; Fédération Internationale des Archives du Film), with headquarters in Paris, was founded in 1938.

  • Fialho de Almeida, José Valentim (Portuguese writer)

    José Valentim Fialho de Almeida was a Portuguese short-story writer and political essayist of the realist-naturalist period. Fialho de Almeida’s serial story collection Os gatos (1889–93; “The Cats”) is a satiric, caricatural depiction of Lisbon life and customs of the period. In O país das uvas

  • Fiamberti, Amarro (Italian surgeon)

    Walter Jackson Freeman II: Development of transorbital lobotomy: …in 1937 by Italian psychosurgeon Amarro Fiamberti. Fiamberti performed the operation by forcing a thin tube (cannula) or a leukotome through the bony orbit at the back of the eye socket and injecting alcohol (or formalin) into the frontal lobe. Instead of a tube and alcohol, Freeman’s instrument of choice…

  • fiambre (food)

    Guatemala: Daily life and social customs: …a traditional food known as fiambre, a salad made from cold cuts, fish, and vegetables. The town of Todos Santos Cuchumatán holds horse races and traditional dancing on this day. Guatemala City celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on August 15. Weekly market days in Indigenous…

  • fiamma, La (opera by Respighi)

    Ottorino Respighi: …at Milan in 1923, and La fiamma (Rome, 1934), which effectively transfers the gloomy Norwegian tragedy of H. Wiers Jenssen (known to English-speaking audiences in John Masefield’s version as The Witch) to Byzantine Ravenna. In a different, more subdued vein are the “mystery,” Maria Egiziaca (1932), and his posthumous Lucrezia…

  • Fiammetta (work by Boccaccio)

    Giovanni Boccaccio: Early works: …in terza rima; the prose Elegia di Madonna Fiammetta (1343–44); and the poem Il ninfale fiesolano (perhaps 1344–45; “Tale of the Fiesole Nymph”), in ottava rima, on the love of the shepherd Africo for the nymph Mensola.

  • Fiammetta (literary character)

    Giovanni Boccaccio: Youth: …years of Boccaccio’s love for Fiammetta, who dominates all his literary activity up to the Decameron, in which there also appears a Fiammetta whose character somewhat resembles that of the Fiammetta of his earlier works. Attempts to use passages from Boccaccio’s writings to identify Fiammetta with a supposedly historical Maria,…

  • Fiammingo, il (Flemish-Italian sculptor)

    François Duquesnoy was a Flemish-born Roman sculptor whose relatively restrained works reveal the influence of his close friend, the painter Nicolas Poussin, and helped to counter the influence of the more extravagantly emotional art prevailing in 17th-century Rome. Duquesnoy was one of a family of

  • Fiámuri Arbërit (Albanian journal)

    Albanian literature: …of the first Albanian periodical, Fiámuri Arbërit (“The Albanian Flag”), which was published from 1883 to 1888. Other Arbëresh writers of note are Francesco Santori, a novelist, poet, and playwright; Dhimitër Kamarda (Demetrio Camarda), a philologist and folklorist; Zef (Giuseppe) Serembe, a poet; Gavril (Gabriele) Dara (the younger), a poet…

  • Fianarantsoa (Madagascar)

    Fianarantsoa, town, east-central Madagascar. The town was founded in 1830. It lies on the eastern fringe of a forested escarpment at an average elevation of 4,000 feet (1,200 metres) and consists of upper and lower towns, surrounded by woodland. The town is situated in the midst of Madagascar’s

  • fianchettoed bishop (chess)

    chess: Hypermodernism: …the other Hypermoderns rediscovered the fianchetto, or development of a bishop on its longest diagonal—i.e., b2 and g2 for White, b7 and g7 for Black. Fianchettoed bishops had been a favourite of Howard Staunton in the 1830s but fell out of favour after Morphy popularized open centres. Réti’s idea was…

  • Fianna bátar in Emain (work by Artacáin and Mainistrech)

    Celtic literature: Verse: In a long poem, Fianna bátar in Emain (“The Warriors Who Were in Emain”), Cináed ua hArtacáin summed up the saga material, while Fland Mainistrech collected the work of generations of filid who had labored to synchronize Ireland’s history with that of the outside world. Equally important is a…

  • Fianna Fáil (political party, Ireland)

    Fianna Fáil, the dominant political party in the Republic of Ireland since the 1930s. Constituted in May 1926, Fianna Fáil comprised opponents of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921) that had brought the Irish Free State into existence. The party was established and led by Eamon de Valera, who had been

  • Fiapos de sonho (poetry by Barbeitos)

    Arlindo Barbeitos: …River: Tales of Return”), and Fiapos de sonho (1992; “Threads of Dream”). His poems are noted for their concentration and density of thought, tenderness of tone, and ultimate simplicity of style.

  • Fiat (Italian company)

    Fiat, major Italian manufacturer of automobiles that is a subsidiary of the multinational automobile manufacturer Stellantis. Among its automotive names were Chrysler, Ferrari, Maserati, and Lancia. The company also had interests in retailing, chemicals, and civil engineering in addition to

  • Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (Italian multinational company)

    Maserati: …brand of Fiat, which became Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014. Fiat Chrysler merged with the French automobile manufacturer PSA Group in 2021 to form Stellantis, of which Maserati is a subsidiary.

  • fiat money (economics)

    fiat money, in a broad sense, all kinds of money that are made legal tender by a government decree or fiat. The term is, however, usually reserved for legal-tender paper money or coins that have face values far exceeding their commodity values and are not redeemable in gold or silver. (Read Milton

  • Fiat Torino (Italian basketball club)

    Larry Brown: …became the head coach of Fiat Torino in Italy’s top professional basketball league. However, he left the team in December 2018, after it posted a record of 5-19. In 2021 Brown became an assistant coach at the University of Memphis.

  • Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége–Magyar Polgári Szövetség (political party, Hungary)

    Fidesz, centre-right Hungarian political party. Fidesz (the Federation of Young Democrats) was founded in 1988 as an anticommunist party that promoted the development of a market economy and European integration. Initially, membership was restricted to those age 35 and younger, though this

  • FIBA (sports organization)

    FIBA, world governing body of basketball, founded in Geneva in 1932. Its membership includes more than 200 national basketball associations organized into the five regions of Africa, North and South America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. FIBA sets official basketball rules and governs all

  • Fibber McGee and Molly (American radio program)

    radio: Situation comedy: …most durable situation comedies was Fibber McGee and Molly. This show starred Jim and Marian Jordan, a married couple from Peoria, Illinois, who had been singers in vaudeville and worked in a variety of Chicago-based radio series until “becoming” the McGees in 1935. The character of Fibber never sought steady…

  • fiber (plant anatomy)

    sclerenchyma: Fibres are greatly elongated cells whose long, tapering ends interlock, thus providing maximum support to a plant. They often occur in bundles or strands and can be found almost anywhere in the plant body, including the stem, the roots, and the vascular bundles in leaves.…

  • fiber (technology)

    fibre, in textile production, basic unit of raw material having suitable length, pliability, and strength for conversion into yarns and fabrics. A fibre of extreme length is a filament. Fibres can occur naturally or can be produced artificially. See Man-Made Fibres; natural

  • fiber optics (physics)

    fiber optics, the science of transmitting data, voice, and images by the passage of light through thin, transparent fibers. In telecommunications, fiber optic technology has virtually replaced copper wire in long-distance telephone lines, and it is used to link computers within local area networks.

  • fiber-optic cable (electric conductor)

    cable: Fibre-optic telecommunication cables: Cables made of optical fibres first came into operation in the mid-1970s. In a fibre-optic cable, light signals are transmitted through thin fibres of plastic or glass from light-emitting diodes or semiconductor lasers by means of internal reflection. The advantages of fibre-optic…

  • fiber-optic endoscope (medical instrument)

    endoscopy: Fibre-optic endoscopes are pliable, highly maneuverable instruments that allow access to channels in the body that older, semirigid instruments cannot access at all or can access only at great discomfort to the patient. Composed of multiple hairlike glass rods bundled together, these instruments can be…

  • fiber-optic gyroscope (instrument)

    gyroscope: Optical gyroscopes: …of optical gyroscope is the fibre-optic gyroscope, which dispenses with hollow tubes and mirrors in favour of routing the light through thin fibres wound tightly around a small spool.

  • fiberboard (construction)

    drum: Fibreboard drums have been produced since early in the 20th century. They are made with ends of steel or paperboard in sizes up to 75 gallons and are cheap and lightweight. They are commonly resin-coated or lined with loose plastic bags for packaging solid materials.

  • fiberglass (glass)

    fibreglass, fibrous form of glass that is used principally as insulation and as a reinforcing agent in plastics. Glass fibres were little more than a novelty until the 1930s, when their thermal and electrical insulating properties were appreciated and methods for producing continuous glass

  • Fibiger, Johannes (Danish pathologist)

    Johannes Fibiger was a Danish pathologist who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1926 for achieving the first controlled induction of cancer in laboratory animals, a development of profound importance to cancer research. A student of the bacteriologists Robert Koch and Emil von

  • Fibiger, Johannes Andreas Grib (Danish pathologist)

    Johannes Fibiger was a Danish pathologist who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1926 for achieving the first controlled induction of cancer in laboratory animals, a development of profound importance to cancer research. A student of the bacteriologists Robert Koch and Emil von

  • Fibonacci (Italian mathematician)

    Fibonacci was a medieval Italian mathematician who wrote Liber abaci (1202; “Book of the Abacus”), the first European work on Indian and Arabian mathematics, which introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals to Europe. His name is mainly known because of the Fibonacci sequence. Little is known about

  • Fibonacci generator (cryptology device)

    cryptology: The impact of modern electronics: …similar to rotors is the Fibonacci generator (also called the Koken generator after its inventor), named for the Fibonacci sequence of number theory. In the classical Fibonacci sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13…each successive term, beginning with 2, is the sum of the two terms to its left;…

  • Fibonacci sequence (mathematics)

    Fibonacci sequence, the sequence of numbers 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, …, each of which, after the second, is the sum of the two previous numbers; that is, the nth Fibonacci number Fn = Fn − 1 + Fn − 2. The sequence was noted by the medieval Italian mathematician Fibonacci (Leonardo Pisano) in his

  • Fibonacci sequence (mathematics)

    Fibonacci sequence, the sequence of numbers 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, …, each of which, after the second, is the sum of the two previous numbers; that is, the nth Fibonacci number Fn = Fn − 1 + Fn − 2. The sequence was noted by the medieval Italian mathematician Fibonacci (Leonardo Pisano) in his

  • Fibonacci trading strategies: Analysis, techniques, and debates

    What does an 11th-century Italian mathematician have to do with trading? Turns out, quite a lot. Born about 1170, possibly in Pisa, Leonardo Fibonacci is known in the investing world thanks to several technical analysis studies regularly used by traders to estimate price targets, measure pullbacks,

  • Fibonacci, Leonardo (Italian mathematician)

    Fibonacci was a medieval Italian mathematician who wrote Liber abaci (1202; “Book of the Abacus”), the first European work on Indian and Arabian mathematics, which introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals to Europe. His name is mainly known because of the Fibonacci sequence. Little is known about

  • fibre (technology)

    fibre, in textile production, basic unit of raw material having suitable length, pliability, and strength for conversion into yarns and fabrics. A fibre of extreme length is a filament. Fibres can occur naturally or can be produced artificially. See Man-Made Fibres; natural

  • fibre (plant anatomy)

    sclerenchyma: Fibres are greatly elongated cells whose long, tapering ends interlock, thus providing maximum support to a plant. They often occur in bundles or strands and can be found almost anywhere in the plant body, including the stem, the roots, and the vascular bundles in leaves.…

  • fibre (connective tissue)

    human respiratory system: The gas-exchange region: …a skeleton of connective tissue fibres. The fibre system is interwoven with the capillaries and particularly reinforced at the alveolar entrance rings. The capillaries are lined by flat endothelial cells with thin cytoplasmic extensions. The interalveolar septum is covered on both sides by the alveolar epithelial cells. A thin, squamous…

  • fibre bundle (mathematics)

    mathematics: Mathematical physics and the theory of groups: …the more general theory of fibre bundles. The subtle and vital point is that it is possible to create quite different bundles which nonetheless look similar in small patches. The cylinder and the Möbius band look alike in small pieces but are topologically distinct, since it is possible to give…

  • fibre glass (glass)

    fibreglass, fibrous form of glass that is used principally as insulation and as a reinforcing agent in plastics. Glass fibres were little more than a novelty until the 1930s, when their thermal and electrical insulating properties were appreciated and methods for producing continuous glass

  • fibre optics (physics)

    fiber optics, the science of transmitting data, voice, and images by the passage of light through thin, transparent fibers. In telecommunications, fiber optic technology has virtually replaced copper wire in long-distance telephone lines, and it is used to link computers within local area networks.

  • fibre, dietary

    dietary fibre, Food material not digestible by the human small intestine and only partially digestible by the large intestine. Fibre is beneficial in the diet because it relieves and prevents constipation, appears to reduce the risk of colon cancer, and reduces plasma cholesterol levels and

  • fibre, human-made

    man-made fibre, fibre whose chemical composition, structure, and properties are significantly modified during the manufacturing process. Man-made fibres are spun and woven into a huge number of consumer and industrial products, including garments such as shirts, scarves, and hosiery; home

  • fibre, man-made

    man-made fibre, fibre whose chemical composition, structure, and properties are significantly modified during the manufacturing process. Man-made fibres are spun and woven into a huge number of consumer and industrial products, including garments such as shirts, scarves, and hosiery; home

  • fibreboard (construction)

    drum: Fibreboard drums have been produced since early in the 20th century. They are made with ends of steel or paperboard in sizes up to 75 gallons and are cheap and lightweight. They are commonly resin-coated or lined with loose plastic bags for packaging solid materials.

  • fibreglass (glass)

    fibreglass, fibrous form of glass that is used principally as insulation and as a reinforcing agent in plastics. Glass fibres were little more than a novelty until the 1930s, when their thermal and electrical insulating properties were appreciated and methods for producing continuous glass

  • fibreglass wool (fibre)

    fibreglass: Fibreglass wool, an excellent sound and thermal insulator, is commonly used in buildings, appliances, and plumbing. Glass filaments and yarns add strength and electrical resistivity to molded plastic products, such as pleasure boat hulls, automobile body parts, and housings for a variety of electronic consumer…

  • fibrillar muscle (anatomy)

    muscle: Diversity of muscle: …of other insects consist of fibrillar muscle, which requires only occasional action potentials to maintain its rapid rhythmic contractions. The wings of these insects are attached to the body in such a way as to have a resonant frequency of vibration (like a guitar string that vibrates when plucked at…

  • fibrillation, atrial (pathology)

    atrial fibrillation, irregular rhythm of contraction of the muscles of the atrium, the upper chamber of the heart. In some cases the fibrillations are not noticed by the patient, but frequently the chaotic, rapid, and shallow beats are felt as significant palpitations of the heart, often

  • fibrillation, ventricular (pathology)

    ventricular fibrillation, a type of arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) characterized by the irregular and uncoordinated contraction of the muscle fibres of the ventricles, the lower chambers of the heart. Since ventricular fibrillation completely prevents the heart from functioning as a pump, it

  • fibrin (biochemistry)

    fibrin, an insoluble protein that is produced in response to bleeding and is the major component of the blood clot. Fibrin is a tough protein substance that is arranged in long fibrous chains; it is formed from fibrinogen, a soluble protein that is produced by the liver and found in blood plasma.

  • fibrin clot

    bleeding and blood clotting: Significance of hemostasis: …to the formation of a fibrin clot.

  • fibrin glue (biochemistry)

    fistula: Fibrin glue, which is typically made from the patient’s blood (autologous fibrin glue) and contains the clotting proteins fibrinogen and thrombin, is sometimes used to plug anal, gastrointestinal, and lung fistulas. Fibrin glue can be made from a donor’s plasma; however, the risk of disease…

  • fibrin-stabilizing factor XIII (biochemistry)

    fibrin: …known as fibrin-stabilizing factor, or factor XIII.

  • fibrinogen (biochemistry)

    plasma: When blood clotting is activated, fibrinogen circulating in the blood is converted to fibrin, which in turn helps to form a stable blood clot at the site of vascular disruption. Coagulation inhibitor proteins help to prevent abnormal coagulation (hypercoagulability) and to resolve clots after they are formed. When plasma is…

  • fibrinoid (anatomy)

    connective tissue disease: Acquired diseases of connective tissue: …of hyaline (translucent) material called fibrinoid because staining with dyes (e.g., eosin) reveals tinctorial properties similar to fibrin (a fibrous protein that forms the lattice of blood clots).

  • fibrinolysin (biology)

    blood: Hemostasis: Plasmin is a proteolytic enzyme—a substance that causes breakdown of proteins—derived from an inert plasma precursor known as plasminogen. When clots are formed within blood vessels, activation of plasminogen to plasmin may lead to their removal. (For additional information about the mechanics and significance of…

  • fibrinolysis (biology)

    bleeding and blood clotting: The hemostatic process: …fibrin itself is dissolved (fibrinolysis) by an enzyme, plasmin. The fibrin clot is replaced by a permanent framework of scar tissue that includes collagen, and healing is thus complete.

  • fibrinolytic drug (pharmacology)

    fibrinolytic drug, any agent that is capable of stimulating the dissolution of a blood clot (thrombus). Fibrinolytic drugs work by activating the so-called fibrinolytic pathway. This distinguishes them from the anticoagulant drugs (coumarin derivatives and heparin), which prevent the formation of

  • fibrinolytic system (physiology)

    fibrinolytic drug: The fibrinolytic system that exists in the human body is also involved in the lysis, or dissolution, of clots as wounds heal. The fibrinolytic system degrades fibrin and fibrinogen to products that act to inhibit the enzyme thrombin. The active enzyme involved in the fibrinolytic process…

  • fibrinopeptide (chemical compound)

    evolution: Multiplicity and rate heterogeneity: …proteins evolve very fast; the fibrinopeptides—small proteins involved in the blood-clotting process—are suitable for reconstructing the phylogeny of recently evolved species, such as closely related mammals. Other proteins evolve at intermediate rates; the hemoglobins, for example, can be used for reconstructing evolutionary history over a fairly broad range of time…

  • fibroblast (anatomy)

    fibroblast, the principal active cell of connective tissue. Fibroblasts are large, flat, elongated (spindle-shaped) cells possessing processes extending out from the ends of the cell body. The cell nucleus is flat and oval. Fibroblasts produce tropocollagen, which is the forerunner of collagen, and

  • fibrocartilage (anatomy)

    fibrocartilage, type of connective tissue that provides structural support for the musculoskeletal system. Fibrocartilage is very strong. It is found predominantly in the intervertebral disks of the spine and at the insertions of ligaments and tendons. Its main function is to act as a cushion

  • fibrocartilaginous joint (anatomy)

    joint: Symphyses: A symphysis (fibrocartilaginous joint) is a joint in which the body (physis) of one bone meets the body of another. All but two of the symphyses lie in the vertebral (spinal) column, and all but one contain fibrocartilage as a constituent tissue. The short-lived…

  • fibrocystic disease of the breast (mammary gland)

    fibrocystic disease of the breast, noncancerous cysts (harmless swellings caused by fluid trapped in breast tissues) that often increase in size and become tender during the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle. This condition occurs most often in women between the ages of 30 and 50 years.

  • fibrocyte (biology)

    ligament: …and spindle-shaped cells known as fibrocytes, with little ground substance (a gel-like component of the various connective tissues).

  • fibroelastosis (pathology)

    cardiovascular disease: Abnormalities of the myocardium and endocardium: They include fibroelastosis, a disease in which the endocardium develops a thick fibrous coat that interferes with the normal contraction and relaxation of the heart. This condition cannot be treated surgically and is usually life-threatening.

  • fibroid tumour (tumor)

    uterine fibroid, benign tumour that originates from the smooth muscle wall of the uterus and may be single but usually occurs in clusters. They are most common in women of African descent and in women who have not borne children, and they are most often identified in women aged 30–45 years. New

  • fibroin (protein)

    scleroprotein: Others include fibroin, which forms about 67 percent of the content of natural silk (the remainder is the protein sericin); elastin, a structural protein of elastic fibres that occurs together with collagen in many tissues; certain proteins of marine sponges (spongin) and corals (gorgonin, antipathin); flagellin, a…

  • fibrolite (mineral)

    sillimanite, brown, pale green, or white glassy silicate mineral that often occurs in long, slender, needlelike crystals frequently found in fibrous aggregates. An aluminum silicate, Al2OSiO4, it occurs in high-temperature regionally metamorphosed clay-rich rocks (e.g., schists and gneisses).

  • fibroma (pathology)

    fibroma, any benign tumour of fibrous tissue. Specific fibromas include nonossifying fibroma, found in the large long bones; it is relatively common in older children and young adults. Fibromas can occur in many areas of the body (e.g., ovaries, nerves) and may remain symptomless throughout life.

  • fibromyalgia (medical syndrome)

    fibromyalgia, chronic syndrome that is characterized by musculoskeletal pain, often at multiple anatomical sites, that occurs in the absence of an identifiable physical or physiological cause. Fibromyalgia affects about 2 to 8 percent of individuals worldwide. It is most commonly diagnosed in young

  • fibrosarcoma (pathology)

    fibrosarcoma, rare malignant tumour of fibrous tissue most commonly found in middle-age adults and primarily occurring in the thighbone, upper arm bone, or jaw; the tumour also may arise in soft tissues and organs. The mass is detectable by palpation before pain occurs. The tumour may invade