Part 13

Friction. The resistance which one body encounters in rubbing against another.

Fruit. A ripened ovary together with any parts of the flower that may be attached to it.

Fulcrum. The point where a lever is supported or turns.

Function. A quantity related to another in such a way that a change in one involves a change in the other.

Functional. Having a use. Of a disease, not affecting the structure of an organ, or of the organ which is supposed to be diseased. It is doubtful if there can be a disease which does not change the structure of some organ.

Fundamental notes. The notes resulting when a piano wire vibrates as a whole. The lowest notes of chords.

Fungus. Plural: fungi. A cryptogamous (flowerless) plant without chlorophyll. A morbid growth.

Fuse. To change, usually by adding heat, from solid to liquid form.

Gadolinium. A metallic element. Symbol: Gd.

Gallium. A metallic element. Symbol: Ga.

Gamete. A sexual cell which unites with another for reproduction.

Gamma rays. Becquerel rays which are more penetrating than beta rays and are not deflected by electricity. Equivalent or analogous to X-rays.

Ganglion. An enlargement of the nerve from which nerve-fibers radiate.

Gas. A fluid which tends to occupy the whole volume of any vessel in which it is placed.

Gastropoda. A class of mollusks including the snails.

Geld. Castrate.

Generalization. A universal assertion, a principle applying not to any single fact but rather to a large number. A general notion.

Genetics. The study of heredity and of the beginning of variation.

Genital. Pertaining to reproduction and the sexual organs.

Genus. In logic, a class which is divided into sub-classes. In biology, a class of animals usually containing several species. A single genus may in some cases make up a genus of its own, if it appears not to be closely related to any other genus. Plural: genera. The next higher group is the family.

Geo-. In combinations, earth——.

Geography. The study of the earth, especially as the environment of man.

Geology. The study of the crust of the earth.

Germ. A portion of an organism capable of becoming a new one. Seed, microörganism. Popularly, a germ is a bacterium which causes disease.

Germanium. A metallic element. Symbol: Ge.

Glacier. A slowly-moving mass of ice formed by the accumulation of snow on high ground.

Gland. An organ which secretes constituents of the blood. Secreting cell or cells in plants.

Glans. The body at the end of the penis and clitoris.