Wenceslas II was the king of Bohemia from 1278 and of Poland from 1300 who ably ruled his Bohemian kingdom and spread his influence not only into Poland but also into Hungary. Succeeding to the throne at the age of seven on the death of his father, Přemysl Otakar II, in 1278, Wenceslas lived at the

Wenceslas III was the last king of the Přemyslid dynasty of Bohemia, king of Hungary from 1301 to 1304, and claimant to the Polish throne; his brief reign in Bohemia was cut short by his assassination, which also prevented him from asserting his right to Poland. Wenceslas renounced his hereditary

Wenceslas was a German king and, as Wenceslas IV, king of Bohemia. His weak and tempestuous, though eventful, reign was continually plagued by wars and princely rivalries that he was unable to control, plunging his territories into a state of virtual anarchy until he was stripped of his powers

Charles IV was a German king and king of Bohemia from 1346 to 1378 and Holy Roman emperor from 1355 to 1378, one of the most learned and diplomatically skillful sovereigns of his time. He gained more through diplomacy than others did by war, and through purchases, marriages, and inheritance he

Wenceslas I ; feast day September 28) was the prince of Bohemia and a Christian martyr who is venerated as the patron saint of the Czech Republic. Wenceslas was raised a Christian by his grandmother St. Ludmila, but his ambitious mother, Drahomíra (Dragomir), a pagan, had her murdered and acted as

undersea exploration: Measurements of ocean currents: The accuracy of the Vector Averaging Current Meter (VACM), for example, has been improved appreciably by the use of integrated circuits, as has its data-handling capability. Because of the latter, the VACM can sample the direction and speed of currents roughly eight times during each revolution of the rotor.…

Vacoas-Phoenix, town (township) on the island of Mauritius, in the western Indian Ocean. It lies in the western highlands region of the country, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Port Louis, the national capital. Vacoas and Phoenix were separate villages until 1963, when they became a single

oceanic crust: Marine magnetic anomalies: Russian-born American geophysicist Victor Vacquier noticed that these linear anomalies ended at the fracture zones mapped in this area. In addition, he noticed that they had unique shapes, occurred in a predictable sequence across their trends, and could be correlated across the fracture zones. Soon thereafter, linear magnetic…

Czechoslovak history: The growing reform movement: …to prison for antistate propaganda; Ludvík Vaculík, Antonín J. Liehm, and Ivan Klíma were expelled from the party; and Jan Procházka was dismissed from the party’s Central Committee, of which he was a candidate member. This repression merely strengthened opposition to Novotný, however.

algae: Annotated classification: Heterosigma, Psammamonas, and Vacuolaria. Class Synurophyceae Previously placed in Chrysophyceae; silica-scaled; unicellular or colonial flagellates sometimes alternating with capsoid benthic stage; cells covered with elaborately structured silica scales; approximately 250 species; Mallomonas and Synura.

fungus: Growth: …of vacuoles, and (3) the zone of vacuolation, which is characterized by the presence of many vacuoles and the accumulation of lipids.

vacuole, in biology, membrane-bound compartment within a cell, enclosed by a specialized membrane and filled with fluid. Vacuoles are especially prominent in eukaryotic cells and serve essential functions such as storage, ingestion, digestion, excretion, and expulsion of excess water. In plant

vacuum, space in which there is no matter or in which the pressure is so low that any particles in the space do not affect any processes being carried on there. It is a condition well below normal atmospheric pressure and is measured in units of pressure (the pascal). A vacuum can be created by

steel: Vacuum arc remelting (VAR): In this process, employed for casting steels that contain easily oxidized alloying elements, a consumable electrode made of forged steel or of compacted powder or sponge is continuously melted by an arc under vacuum. At the same time, the shallow molten…

railroad: Brake systems: …of continuous train braking systems: vacuum, which now survives mostly on railroads in the developing world, and compressed air, the inherently greater efficiency of which has been improved by modern electric or electronic control systems. With either system brake application in the train’s driving cab is transmitted to all its…

coffee: Brewing and drinking: In vacuum brewing, steam pressure pushes heated water into an upper chamber, which holds the grounds. Once removed from the heat, steam recondenses in the lower chamber, thus creating a partial vacuum. With the pressure now higher in the upper chamber, the brewed coffee is forced…

home appliance: Appliances for cleaning.: …rugs, and in 1908 a vacuum cleaner. To clean rugs, it had always been necessary to beat the dust out of them. But in the 1860s and ’70s the carpet sweeper—patterned on an early 19th-century horse-drawn street sweeper—was perfected. By this time, inventors were trying to utilize a partial vacuum…

thermionic power converter: Vacuum converters: The available power and the efficiency of a thermionic converter can be severely limited by buildup of space charge between the electrodes. The vacuum type of thermionic converter uses a very small gap between its emitter and collector electrodes—typically 0.025 to 0.038 mm…

frozen meal: Cooking: In vacuum cooking, meats are cooked at reduced pressure and temperature. In one vacuum technique, known as sous vide cooking, foods are cooked in their own juices, thus retaining their natural flavours and moisture. Cooking time is usually increased because of the low temperatures employed. The…

fruit processing: Storage: …fruit in cold water) or vacuum cooling (moistening and then placing under vacuum in order to induce evaporative cooling).

abortion: …more onerous procedure known as dilatation and evacuation (also called suction curettage or vacuum curettage), the cervical canal is enlarged by the insertion of a series of metal dilators while the patient is under anesthesia, after which a rigid suction tube is inserted into the uterus to evacuate its contents.…

amorphous solid: Vapour condensation techniques: …shows the simplest of these vapour-condensation techniques. A vapour stream, formed within a vacuum chamber by thermal evaporation of a sample of the material to be deposited, impinges on the surface of a cold substrate. The atoms condense on the cold surface and, under a range of conditions (usually a…

electronics: The vacuum tube era: Coolidge and Fleming’s thermionic valve (a two-electrode vacuum tube) for use in radio receivers. The detection of a radio signal, which is a very high-frequency alternating current (AC), requires that the signal be rectified; i.e., the alternating current must be converted into a direct current (DC) by a…

distillation: This method, called vacuum distillation, is sometimes employed when dealing with substances that normally boil at inconveniently high temperatures or that decompose when boiling under atmospheric pressure. Steam distillation is an alternative method of achieving distillation at temperatures lower than the normal boiling point. It is applicable when…

fish processing: Drying: …fish are by forced-air drying, vacuum drying, or vacuum freeze-drying. Each of these methods involves adding heat to aid in the removal of water from the fish product. During the initial stages of drying, known as the constant-rate period, water is evaporated from the surface of the product and the…

dark energy: …empty space, or a “vacuum energy.” Mathematically, vacuum energy is equivalent to Einstein’s cosmological constant. Despite the rejection of the cosmological constant by Einstein and others, the modern understanding of the vacuum, based on quantum field theory, is that vacuum energy arises naturally from the totality of quantum fluctuations…

birth: Vacuum extraction: The vacuum extractor is a caplike device that is attached by suction to the fetal scalp and is used as an alternative to delivery by forceps. This technique is employed more frequently in Europe than it is in the United States. Cervical and vaginal trauma have…

chemical analysis: Filtration: …is maintained under a partial vacuum. In that instance, fritted glass or glass fibre filters often are used in place of paper filters. Solid-gas filtrations are carried out in the laboratory as well.

vacuum flask, vessel with double walls, the space between which is evacuated. It was invented by the British chemist and physicist Sir James Dewar in the 1890s. Thermos is a proprietary name applied to a form protected by a metal casing. The vacuum flask was devised to preserve liquefied gases by

history of technology: Food production: …technological innovation such as accelerated freeze-drying and irradiation as methods of preservation, as well as the increasing mechanization of farming throughout the world. The widespread use of new pesticides and herbicides in some cases reached the point of abuse, causing worldwide concern. Despite such problems, farming was transformed in response…

vacuum technology: McLeod gauge: The McLeod gauge takes advantage of Boyle’s law (the product of pressure and volume for a given quantity of gas remains constant if a constant temperature is maintained) to determine gas pressure within a range of 10 to 10-6 torr. Raising the mercury level in the McLeod…

art conservation and restoration: Paintings on canvas: …1950, of the so-called “vacuum hot table.”

steel: Induction melting: This is called vacuum induction melting, or VIM. When liquid steel is placed in a vacuum, removal of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen takes place, generating a boil in the crucible. In many cases, the liquid steel is cast directly from the furnace into ingot molds that are placed…

plastic: Thermoforming and cold molding: …sheet can be pulled by vacuum into contact with the cold surface of a mold, where it cools to below Tg or Tm and becomes dimensionally stable in the shape of the mold. Cups for cold drinks are formed in this way from polystyrene or PET.

Mobil Corporation: One predecessor, Vacuum Oil Company, was founded in 1866 and, after 1882, became part of the Standard Oil Company and Trust. Another predecessor was Standard Oil Company of New York (Socony), established by the trust in 1882. Both companies became independent in 1911 when the U.S. Supreme…

steel: Vacuum treatment: …the vacuum oxygen decarburizer (VOD), which has an oxygen lance in the centre of the tank lid to enhance carbon removal under vacuum. The VOD is often used to lower the carbon content of high-alloy steels without also overoxidizing such oxidizable alloying elements as chromium. This is possible because,…

meat processing: Vacuum packaging: Oxygen is required for many bacteria to grow. For this reason most meats are vacuum-packaged, which extends the storage life under refrigerated conditions to approximately 100 days. In addition, vacuum packaging minimizes the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids and slows the development of…

steel: Vacuum ingot pouring: Vacuum ingot pouring is often employed to produce very large ingots that are subsequently processed, in expensive forging and machining operations, into such products as rotors for power generators. In this process, an ingot mold is placed inside a cylindrical tank that…

vacuum technology: McLeod gauge: The McLeod gauge takes advantage of Boyle’s law (the product of pressure and volume for a given quantity of gas remains constant if a constant temperature is maintained) to determine gas pressure within a range of 10 to 10-6 torr. Raising the mercury level in the McLeod…

Francis Hauksbee, the Elder: …served as a pattern for vacuum pumps and remained in use with minor modifications for some 200 years.

vacuum technology, all processes and physical measurements carried out under conditions of below-normal atmospheric pressure. A process or physical measurement is generally performed in a vacuum for one of the following reasons: (1) to remove the constituents of the atmosphere that could cause a

electron tube, device usually consisting of a sealed glass or metal-ceramic enclosure that is used in electronic circuitry to control a flow of electrons. Among the common applications of vacuum tubes are amplification of a weak current, rectification of an alternating current (AC) to direct

electrometer: …more sensitive device is the vacuum-tube electrometer, a direct-current amplifier capable of measuring currents as minute as 10-15 amperes (about 10,000 electrons per second). This instrument, however, is subject to drift. A newer version of this type of electrometer replaces the electron tube with a matched pair of junction field-effect…

spectroscopy: Broadband-light sources: …intense sources of ultraviolet and vacuum-ultraviolet radiation, and so excitation in an electron discharge remains a common method for this portion of the spectrum. (The term vacuum ultraviolet refers to the short-wavelength portion of the electromagnetic spectrum where the photons are energetic enough to excite a typical atom from the…

ventricular assist device (VAD), machine designed to facilitate the pumping of blood from the ventricles (lower chambers) of the heart to the rest of the body. A ventricular assist device (VAD) can support either the right or the left ventricle, although it is most commonly implanted in the left

Savona, city and seaport, Liguria region, northwestern Italy, on the Riviera di Ponente, southwest of Genoa. First recorded as the Gallo-Roman town of Savo, an ally of Carthage against Rome in 205 bc, it was next noted in ad 568–569, when the Ligurians were fighting the barbarians, and was

Vadakalai, one of two Hindu subsects of the Shrivaishnava, the other being the Tenkalai. Though the two groups use both Sanskrit and Tamil scriptures, the Vadakalai relies more on Sanskrit texts, such as the Vedas (the earliest sacred scriptures of India), the Upanishads (speculative philosophical

Vatakara, town and port, northern Kerala state, southwestern India. It is located on the Malabar Coast, along the Arabian Sea, about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of the city of Kozhikode (Calicut). Vatakara is a fishing port and trade centre for pepper, copra, timber, and other products. It is served

Thrissur: …a hillock topped by the Vadakkumnathan Temple (dedicated to Shiva), the focus of an annual festival. A city of many faiths, Thrissur is also home to some of the oldest mosques and churches in the country. Its industries include cotton weaving, rice and oilseed milling, soap manufacturing, and sawmilling. The…

Vadodara, city, east-central Gujarat state, west-central India. It is located on the Vishvamitra River about 60 miles (100 km) southeast of Ahmadabad. The earliest record of the city is in a grant or charter of 812 ce that mentions it as Vadapadraka, a hamlet attached to the town of Ankottaka. In

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing: Rising reputation as dramatist and critic.: His scintillating and biting polemic Ein Vade Mecum für den Herrn Samuel Gotthold Lange (1754) was directed against the carelessly corrupt translations of the poetry of Horace by the arrogant scholar S.G. Lange, whose literary reputation was demolished by Lessing’s attack. From this point on, Lessing was justly feared as…

Wadden Sea, shallow inlet of the North Sea between the West Frisian Islands and the northern Netherlands mainland. The inlet extends from Noord-Holland to the northeast, where the islands gradually curve toward the mainland and the channel narrows to a few miles. Until the completion of the

Baron Münchhausen: …of such tales appeared in Vademecum für lustige Leute (1781–83; “Manual for Merry People”), all of them attributed to the baron, though several can be traced to much earlier sources.

Karel van de Woestijne: His early, subjective poetry includes Het vaderhuis (1903; “The Father House”), about his childhood; De boomgaard der vogelen en der vruchten (1905; “The Orchard of Birds and Fruit”), on his youth and courtship; and De gulden schaduw (1910; “The Golden Shadow”), on his marriage and fatherhood.

South Asian arts: Qualities of the scales: …connection, four terms are mentioned: vadi, comparable to the Western term sonant, meaning “having sound”; samvadi, comparable to the Western consonant (concordant; reposeful); vivadi, comparable to dissonant (discordant; lacking repose); and anuvadi, comparable to assonant

Joachim Vadianus was a Swiss religious reformer and one of the most important native Swiss Humanists. Crowned poet laureate by the Habsburg emperor Maximilian (1514), Vadianus served as rector at the University of Vienna (1516–17) and supervised the publication of the works of various ancient

Indian philosophy: Jain philosophy: Akalanka (8th century), Manikyanandi, Vadideva, Hemchandra (12th century), Prabhachandra (11th century), and Yasovijaya (17th century).

India: The south: Travancore and Mysore: …century, when rulers of the Vadiyar dynasty, such as Kanthirava Narasaraja and Cikka Deva Raja, fought campaigns to extend Vadiyar control over parts of what is now interior Tamil Nadu (especially Dharmapuri, Salem, and Coimbatore). Until the second half of the 18th century, however, Mysore was a landlocked kingdom and…

Vadodara: Vadodara is a rail and highway junction and has an airport for domestic flights. Vadodara’s surrounding region extends from the Narmada River (south) to the Mahi River (north). It corresponds roughly to the capital division of the former princely state of Baroda (the Gaekwar dominions).…

Vadodara, city, east-central Gujarat state, west-central India. It is located on the Vishvamitra River about 60 miles (100 km) southeast of Ahmadabad. The earliest record of the city is in a grant or charter of 812 ce that mentions it as Vadapadraka, a hamlet attached to the town of Ankottaka. In

vadose zone: …influence of gravity, is called vadose water, or gravitational water.

vadose zone, region of aeration above the water table. This zone also includes the capillary fringe above the water table, the height of which will vary according to the grain size of the sediments. In coarse-grained mediums the fringe may be flat at the top and thin, whereas in finer grained

Vadsø, town, northern Norway. Located on the northern shore of Varangerfjorden, the original settlement was on the adjacent island of Vassøya, but in the early 1700s the port was reestablished on the mainland. Vadsø received its town charter in 1833, and the town prospered, principally through

Vadstena Bracteate, gold coin-like ornament with runic inscriptions and rich designs, discovered in Östergötland, Swed., probably dating from the 5th century. A 24-character futhark (runic alphabet), arranged in three groups of eight symbols, is engraved on it, followed by eight characters, tuwa

Vaduz, capital of Liechtenstein, central Europe, in the Rhine Valley. The seat of one of the two former lordships (Schellenberg and Vaduz) that united to form the principality in 1719, Vaduz is a flourishing tourist centre and the residence of the ruling prince, whose castle overlooks the town.

Liechtenstein: Geography: The traditional regions of Vaduz and Schellenberg are still recognized as unique regions—the Upper Country (Oberland) and the Lower Country (Unterland), respectively—and they form separate electoral districts. All citizens age 18 or older who live in the principality are eligible to vote in national elections.

scorpion: Annotated classification: Family Vaejovidae 146 species found from southwestern Canada to Central America. 3 lateral eyes. Family Chactidae 129 species found from Mexico to northern South America. 2 lateral eyes on each side. Family Scorpionidae 119 species found mostly in tropics and subtropics of Africa, Asia, and

scorpion: Ecology and habitats: Vaejovis littoralis, an intertidal scorpion from Baja California, Mexico, exhibits the highest density, from 2 to more than 12 per square metre along the high-tide mark. Since adult scorpions commonly weigh 0.5 to 5 grams (0.02 to 0.2 ounce), the biomass of the population is…

emblem book: … (1608) of Octavius Vaenius (Otto van Veen), an important early Dutch emblem book.

Australia: The Spanish: …ship of the expedition, under Luis de Torres, went on to sail through the Torres Strait but almost certainly failed to sight Australia; and all Quirós’s fervour failed to persuade Spanish officialdom to mount another expedition.

Benny Rebel is a German Iranian photographer known for his extreme close-up portraits of dangerous African wildlife. He captured the dramatic images by approaching within feet of the animals, a tactic that provoked some into displaying threat behaviours. In 1987 Rebel immigrated to Hannover,

Markos Vafiades was a Greek insurgent, founding member of the Greek Communist Party, and commander of the communist-led Democratic Army in the civil war against the Greek government (1946–49). Vafiades worked as a labourer in Istanbul and fled to Greece as a refugee in 1923. He became a communist

Germanic religion and mythology: The beginning of the world of giants, gods, and men: …told in the didactic poem “Vafthrúdnismál” (“The Lay of Vafthrúdnir”). The poet ascribes his ancestry to a primal giant, Aurgelmir, who sometimes goes by the name Ymir. The giant grew out of the venom-cold drops spurted by the stormy rivers called Élivágar. One of the giant’s legs begat a six-headed…

Germanic religion and mythology: The beginning of the world of giants, gods, and men: …told in the didactic poem “Vafthrúdnismál” (“The Lay of Vafthrúdnir”). The poet ascribes his ancestry to a primal giant, Aurgelmir, who sometimes goes by the name Ymir. The giant grew out of the venom-cold drops spurted by the stormy rivers called Élivágar. One of the giant’s legs begat a six-headed…

Béja, town in northern Tunisia, located in the hills on the northern edge of the Majardah (Medjerda) valley. Béja is built on the site of ancient Vacca (or Vaga)—a Punic town and Roman colony. It became an important agricultural market beginning in the 1st century bce and was conquered by the

Mannerism: …joined the artists Giulio Romano, Perino del Vaga, and Polidoro da Caravaggio, who had all been followers of Raphael in his work for the Vatican. The Mannerist style completely emerged in the paintings of these artists as well as in those of Parmigianino. The latter’s Madonna with the Long Neck…

Agnès Varda: …Without Roof or Law, or Vagabond).

Rudolf Friml: …was followed in 1925 by The Vagabond King (book and lyrics by Brian Hooker and W.H. Post), with its popular songs “Only a Rose” and “Some Day,” and in 1928 by The Three Musketeers (book and lyrics by Clifford Grey and P.G. Wodehouse). From 1934 Friml composed for motion pictures.…

Michael Curtiz: Last films of Michael Curtiz: …directing three largely forgettable films: The Vagabond King, an operetta that focused on the clash between French King Louis XI and rebellious poet François Villon; the melodrama The Scarlet Hour; and The Best Things in Life Are Free, the story of Tin Pan Alley composers Buddy DeSylva, Lew Brown, and…

Charlie Chaplin: Early life and career: (1916), The Rink (1916), The Vagabond (1916), and Easy Street (1917). It was then, in 1917, that Chaplin found himself attacked for the first (though hardly the last) time by the press. He was criticized for not enlisting to fight in World War I. To aid the war effort,…

Karl von Holtei: He also wrote novels, including Die Vagabunden (1851; “The Vagabonds”) and Der letzte Komödiant (1863; “The Last Comedian”), that are interesting when they draw on his own experience but suffer from loose construction and superficial characterization. As a reciter he was unequalled, especially in his interpretation of speeches from Shakespeare.…

Kabelvåg, historical village of the Lofoten island group, northern Norway. It is on the southern shore of Austvågøya island, just southwest of Svolvær, chief town of the Lofoten. Kabelvåg was founded as Vågan in the early 12th century by King Øystein, who built a church and fishermen’s hostel

Agrippina Vaganova was a Russian ballerina and teacher who developed a technique and system of instruction based on the classical style of the Imperial Russian Ballet but which also incorporated aspects of the more vigorous Soviet ballet developed after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Vaganova

Agrippina Vaganova was a Russian ballerina and teacher who developed a technique and system of instruction based on the classical style of the Imperial Russian Ballet but which also incorporated aspects of the more vigorous Soviet ballet developed after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Vaganova

Ejmiatsin, city, west-central Armenia. It lies on the plain of the Aras River, 12 miles (20 km) west of Yerevan. Ejmiatsin is the seat of the supreme catholicos, or primate, of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Ejmiatsin originated in the 7th century bce as the town of Vardkesavan and was renamed

Považská Bystrica, town, Střední Slovensko kraj (region), northwestern Slovakia. It is situated 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Žilina on the Váh River. The town is a popular excursion centre because of its location near the picturesque Javorníky Mountains. Economic activities include the manufacture

Harry Martinson: …Wind”), a collection of poetry; Vägen till Klockrike (1948; The Road), a novel that sympathetically examines the lives of tramps and other social outcasts; and Aniara (1956; Aniara, A Review of Man in Time and Space), an epic poem about space travel that was turned into a successful opera in…

Gujarat: History of Gujarat: Karnadeva Vaghela, of the subsequent Vaghela dynasty, was defeated in about 1299 by ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Khaljī, sultan of Delhi; Gujarat then came under Muslim rule. It was Aḥmed Shah, the first independent sultan of Gujarat, who founded Ahmedabad (1411). By the end of the 16th century, Gujarat was ruled by…

Gujarat: History of Gujarat: Karnadeva Vaghela, of the subsequent Vaghela dynasty, was defeated in about 1299 by ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Khaljī, sultan of Delhi; Gujarat then came under Muslim rule. It was Aḥmed Shah, the first independent sultan of Gujarat, who founded Ahmedabad (1411). By the end of the 16th

vagina, canal in female mammals that receives the male reproductive cells, or sperm, and is part of the birth canal during the birth process. In humans, it also functions as an excretory canal for the products of menstruation. In humans the vagina is about 9 cm (3.5 inches) long on average; it is

feminism: Manifestations: …Ensler’s play (and later book) The Vagina Monologues, an exploration of women’s feelings about sexuality that included vagina-cenetred topics as diverse as orgasm, birth, and rape; the righteous anger of punk rock’s riot grrrls movement; and the playfulness, seriousness, and subversion of the Guerrilla Girls, a group of women artists…

reproductive system disease: Amenorrhea: A less rare abnormality is vaginal atresia, or closure, an obstruction of the vagina by a membrane just above the level of the hymen; menstruation occurs, but the discharge cannot escape and distends the vagina. This condition, called false amenorrhea or cryptomenorrhea, is easily corrected by an incision in the…

contraception: Douching with water or with a spermicidal agent only affects the sperm that remain in the vaginal canal; the sperm that have already entered the uterus are not affected. Coitus interruptus, or withdrawal, does not account for drops of seminal fluid that are released before…

contraception: Barrier devices: …jelly), or by inserting a female condom (vaginal pouch) or a vaginal sponge permeated with a spermicide. The vaginal sponge is less effective than other devices but can be used for 24 hours. Spermicides, which—as the name suggests—kill sperm, also help prevent sperm from getting past the barrier device, improving…

contraception: Barrier devices: …condom (vaginal pouch) or a vaginal sponge permeated with a spermicide. The vaginal sponge is less effective than other devices but can be used for 24 hours. Spermicides, which—as the name suggests—kill sperm, also help prevent sperm from getting past the barrier device, improving the effectiveness of such devices to…

vaginismus, involuntary muscle spasm that closes the opening to the vagina in the female reproductive tract. The spasm may be so intense that the vagina seems pathologically obstructed. Vaginismus is a sexual dysfunction resulting from physiological factors, such as sexual trauma, sexual abuse, or

vaginitis, inflammation of the vagina, usually due to infection. The chief symptom is the abnormal flow of a whitish or yellowish discharge from the vagina (leukorrhea). The treatment of vaginitis depends on the cause of the inflammation. Several different microorganisms can produce vaginitis in

Mañjuśrī, in Mahāyāna Buddhism, the bodhisattva (“Buddha-to-be”) personifying supreme wisdom. His name in Sanskrit means “gentle, or sweet, glory”; he is also known as Mãnjughoṣa (“Sweet Voice”) and Vāgīśvara (“Lord of Speech”). In China he is called Wen-shu Shih-li, in Japan Monju, and in Tibet

vagrancy, state or action of one who has no established home and drifts from place to place without visible or lawful means of support. Traditionally a vagrant was thought to be one who was able to work for his maintenance but preferred instead to live idly, often as a beggar. The punishment for

vagus nerve, longest and most complex of the cranial nerves. The vagus nerve runs from the brain through the face and thorax to the abdomen. It is a mixed nerve that contains parasympathetic fibres. The vagus nerve has two sensory ganglia (masses of nerve tissue that transmit sensory impulses): the