Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • Zoophobia

    Irrational and excessive fear of animals.  

  • Zoophilism

    Abnormal fondness for animals, especially sexual attraction to animals. Sexual attraction to animals, which may be manifest in stroking and fondling or in sexual intercourse (bestiality). Affection for animals, typically an excessive fondness for specific animals, often associated with opposition to vivisection.  

  • Zonule

    Small, bandlike area (e.g., zonule of Zinn, ligament holding the lens of the eye in place). Also called zonula. A small band or zone; for example the zonule of Zinn (zonula ciliaris) is the suspensory ligament of the eye.  

  • Zona pellucida

    Thick membrane enclosing the mammalian ovum; it can be penetrated by one sperm in the fertilization process, and usually remains around the fertilized egg until its implantation in the wall of the uterus. The thick membrane that develops around the mammalian oocyte within the ovarian follicle. It is penetrated by at least one spermatozoon at…

  • Zona

    Zonae, bandlike area around a part or organ. Also called zone.  

  • Zoanthropy

    Delusion that one has assumed the form of an animal. The delusion that one is an animal. A form of mental illness in which the individual believes they have transformed into an animal.  

  • Zinc deficiency

    Condition caused by inadequate zinc intake in the diet or by liver disease, cystic fibrosis, or certain other diseases that lead to inadequate zinc levels; symptoms include fatigue, mental dullness, poor appetite, and susceptibility to infection. Rich sources of zinc include meat, eggs, nuts, milk, peanut butter, and whole grains.  

  • Yolk stalk

    Narrow duct that connects the yolk sac and mid area of the embryonic gut during early development, usually disappearing in early embryonic growth. The duct that connects the embryonic gut to the yolk sac; it disappears during fetal development.  

  • Yolk sac

    Membranous sac that develops in the early embryo, providing part of the primitive gut, a site of blood cell formation, and a means for transporting nutrients to the early embryo. In humans it disappears in early embryonic development. In mammals, the embryonic membrane that is the site of formation of the first red blood cells…

  • Yolk

    Nutritive material, rich in protein and fats, found within the ovum to supply nourishment for the developing embryo. It is nearly absent in the ova of humans and other mammals, in whom the embryo receives nourishment from the mother, through the placenta. A substance, rich in protein and fat, that is laid down within the…

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