Copy of `Talk Talk - Communication terms`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.


 Talk Talk - Communication terms
Category: General technical and industrial
Date & country: 28/05/2010, UK
Words: 18630


phalarope
Any of a genus Phalaropus of small, elegant shorebirds in the sandpiper family (Scolopacidae). They have the habit of spinning in the water to stir up insect larvae. They are native to North America, the UK, and the polar regions of Europe. The male phalarope is courted by the female and hatches the eggs. The female is always lar...

pheromone
Chemical signal (such as an odour) that is emitted by one animal and affects the behaviour of others. Pheromones are used by many animal species to attract mates

phylogeny
Historical sequence of changes that occurs in a given species during the course of its evolution. It was once erroneously associated with ontogeny (the process of development of a living organism)

phage
Another name for a bacteriophage, a virus that attacks bacteria

phenotype
In genetics, visible traits, those actually displayed by an organism. The phenotype is not a direct reflection of the genotype because some alleles are masked by the presence of other, dominant alleles (see dominance). The phenotype is further modified by the effects of the environment (for example, poor nutrition stunts growth)

phloem
Tissue found in vascular plants. Its main function is to transport sugars and other food materials such as amino acids (see protein) from the leaves, where they are produced, to all other parts of the plant. This could be from the leaves to the roots to provide the chemicals needed for growth. Howeve...

phenomenalism
Philosophical position that argues that statements about objects can be reduced to statements about what is perceived or perceivable. Thus English philosopher John Stuart Mill defined material objects as `permanent possibilities of sensation`. Phenomenalism is closely connected with certain forms of empiricism

phenomenology
The philosophical perspective, founded by the German philosopher Edmund Husserl, that concentrates on phenomena as objects of perception (rather than as facts or occurrences that exist independently) in attempting to examine the ways people think about and interpret the world around them. It has been practised by the philosophers Martin Heidegger, ...

phosphor
Any substance that is phosphorescent, that is, gives out visible light when it is illuminated by a beam of electrons or ultraviolet light. The light emission persists briefly after the stimulus ends – compare with fluorescence. The television screen is coated on the inside with phosphors that glow when beams of electrons strike them. Fluoresce...

photography
Process for reproducing permanent images on light-sensitive materials by various forms of radiant energy, including visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, X-rays, atomic radiations, and electron beams. Photography was developed in the 19th century; among the pioneers were Louis Daguerre in France and William Henry Fox Talbot in the UK. C...

Philip II of Macedon
King of Macedonia from 359 BC. He seized the throne from his nephew, for whom he was regent, defeated the Greek city states at the battle of Chaeronea (in central Greece) in 338 and formed them into a league whose forces could be united against Persia. He was assassinated while he was planning this expedition, and was succeeded by his son Alexander...

phylum
Major grouping in biological classification. Mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and tunicates belong to the phylum Chordata; the phylum Mollusca consists of snails, slugs, mussels, clams, squid, and octopuses; the phylum Porifera contains sponges; and the phylum Echinodermata includes starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers....

photocell
Device for measuring or detecting light or other electromagnetic radiation, since its electrical state is altered by the effect of light. In a photoemissive cell, the radiation causes electrons to be emitted and a current to flow (photoelectric effect); a photovoltaic cell causes an electromotive force to be generated in the presence of light a...

phosphorescence
Emission of light by certain substances after they have absorbed energy, whether from visible light, other electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet rays or X-rays, or cathode rays (a beam of electrons). When the stimulating energy is removed phosphorescence persists for more than 0.1 nanoseconds before ceasing (unlike fluorescence, which s...

photoelectric effect
Process by which electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, incident on a material releases an electric charge. It is commonly thought of as the emission of electrons from a substance (usually a metallic surface) when it is struck by photons (quanta of electromagnetic radiation), usually those of visible light or ultraviolet radiation

photometer
Instrument that measures the intensity of light (electromagnetic radiation in the visible range), usually by comparing relative intensities from different sources. Bunsen's grease-spot photometer of 1844 compares the intensity of a light source with that of a known source by using each source to illuminate one half of a translucent area. Mo...

photocopier
Machine that uses some form of photographic process to reproduce copies of documents or illustrations. Most modern photocopiers, as pioneered by the Xerox Corporation, use electrostatic photocopying, or xerography (`dry writing`). Additional functions of photocopiers include enlargement and...

physics
Branch of science concerned with the laws that govern the structure of the universe, and the investigation of the properties of matter and energy and their interactions. Before the 19th century, physics was known as natural philosophy. Classical physics consisted of the study of heat, light, electricity, magnetism, optics, acoustics, and mechanics....

phobia
Excessive irrational fear of an object or situation – for example, agoraphobia (fear of open spaces and crowded places), acrophobia (fear of heights), and claustrophobia (fear of enclosed places). Behaviour therapy is one form of treatment. A specific phobia is a severe dislike of a particular thing, including objects, animals or situations. S...

phon
Unit of loudness, equal to the value in decibels of an equally loud tone with frequency 1,000 Hz. The higher the frequency, the louder a noise sounds for the same decibel value; thus an 80-decibel tone with a frequency of 20 Hz sounds as loud as 20 decibels at 1,000 Hz, and the phon value of both tones is 20. An aircraft engine has a loudne...

Philippines
Country in southeast Asia, on an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands west of the Pacific Ocean and south of the Southeast Asian mainland. Government The constitution was approved by plebiscite in February 1987. It provides for a US-style executive president who is elected for a non-renewab...

Philip II
(of France) King of France from 1180. As part of his efforts to establish a strong monarchy and evict the English from their French possessions, he waged war in turn against the English kings Henry II, Richard (I) the Lionheart (with whom he also went on the Third Crusade), and John (1167–...

Philip IV the Fair
King of France from 1285. He engaged in a feud with Pope Boniface VIII and made him a prisoner 1303. Clement V (1264–1314), elected pope through Philip's influence in 1305, moved the papal seat to Avignon in 1309 and collaborated with Philip to suppress the Templars, a powerful order of knights. Philip allied with the Scots against England...

Philip VI
King of France from 1328, first of the house of Valois, elected by the barons on the death of his cousin, Charles IV. His claim was challenged by Edward III of England, who defeated him at Crécy in 1346

Philip V
King of Spain from 1700. A grandson of Louis XIV of France, he was the first Bourbon king of Spain. He was not recognized by the major European powers until 1713. See Spanish Succession, War of the

phylacteries
In Judaism, another name for tefillin

phase
(astronomy) In astronomy, apparent shape of the Moon or a planet when all or part of its illuminated hemisphere is facing the Earth. As the Moon orbits the Earth its appearance from Earth changes as different amounts of its surface are illuminated by the Sun. During one orbit of the Earth (29....

Phanerozoic eon
Eon in Earth history, consisting of the most recent 570 million years. It comprises the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras. The vast majority of fossils come from this eon, owing to the evolution of hard shells and internal skeletons. The name means `interval of well-displayed life`

Phalangist
Member of a Lebanese military organization (Phalanges Libanaises), since 1958 the political and military force of the Maronite Church in Lebanon. The Phalangists' unbending right-wing policies and resistance to the introduction of democratic institutions were among the contributing factors to the civil war in Lebanon. The Phalanges Libanais...

photogravure
Printing process that uses a plate prepared photographically, covered with a pattern of recessed cells in which the ink is held. See gravure

photochemical reaction
Any chemical reaction caused by absorption of light (including visible, ultraviolet, and infrared). The light excites atoms and molecules (shifts some of their electrons to a higher energy level) and thus makes them more reactive. In comparison to ordinary reactions using thermal energy alone, photochemical reactions can follow different routes and...

phosphoric acid
Acid derived from phosphorus and oxygen. Its commonest form (H3PO4) is also known as orthophosphoric acid, and is produced by the action of phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) on water. It is used in rust removers and for rust-proofing iron and steel

phase
(physics) In physics, a stage in an oscillatory motion, such as a wave motion: two waves are in phase when their peaks and their troughs coincide. Otherwise, there is a phase difference, which has consequences in interference phenomena and alternating current electricity

photon
In physics, the elementary particle or `package` (quantum) of energy in which light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation are emitted. The photon has both particle and wave properties; it has no charge, is considered massless but possesses momentum and energy. It is one of the gauge bosons, and is the carrier of the electromagn...

photosynthesis
Click images to enlargeMajor endocrine gland of vertebrates, situated in the centre of the brain. It is attached to the hypothalamus by a stalk. The pituitary consists of two lobes. The posterior lobe is an extension of the hypothalamus, and is in effect nervous tissue. It stores two hormones synthesized in the hypothalam...

physical chemistry
Branch of chemistry concerned with examining the relationships between the chemical compositions of substances and the physical properties that they display. Most chemical reactions exhibit some physical phenomenon (change of state, temperature, pressure, or volume, or the use or production of electricity), and the measurement and study of such phe...

physical weathering
Form of weathering responsible for the mechanical breakdown of rocks but involving no chemical change. Forces acting on rock exposed on the Earth's surface open up any weak points in the rock and cause pieces to be broken off. Piles of jagged rock fragments called scree are formed. Processes involved include freeze–thaw (the alternate free...

phototropism
Movement of part of a plant toward or away from a source of light. Leaves are positively phototropic, detecting the source of light and orientating themselves to receive the maximum amount

phalanx
In ancient Greece and Macedonia, a battle formation using up to 16 lines of infantry with pikes about 4 m/13 ft long, protected to the sides and rear by cavalry. It was used by Philip II and Alexander the Great of Macedonia, and though more successful than the conventional hoplite formation, it proved inferior to the Roman legion

physiocrat
Member of a school of 18th-century French economists, including François Quesnay (1694–1774) and Mirabeau, who believed in the bounty of nature and the inherent goodness of humankind. They held that governments should intervene in society only where individuals' liberties were infringed. Otherwise there should be a laisse...

phytomenadione
One form of vitamin K, a fat-soluble chemical found in green vegetables. It is involved in the production of prothrombin, which is essential in blood clotting. It is given to newborns to prevent potentially fatal brain haemorrhages

phrase
(language) In grammar, a group of words identifiable as a unit but without a main verb, although non-finite verbs and the use of participles are common. Unlike a clause, a phrase can never be a complete sentence. Five kinds of phrase are identifiable: noun phrase, verb, adjectival, adv...

phoneme
Distinctive unit of sound from which a language is formed. For example, /t/ and /d/ are phonemes in English because they can be used to distinguish between two words, for example `bad` and `bat`. Although the exact sound of /t/ varies with its phonetic context (see phonetics). Phonetically, the /t/...

Photorealism
Style of painting and sculpture popular in the late 1960s and 1970s, especially in the USA, characterized by intense, photographic realism and attention to minute detail. The Photorealists' aim was to create a purely descriptive and objective record of peoples, places, and objects that was dispassionate to the extent of being almost surreal. Fa...

photoelectric cell
Alternative name for photocell

phrase
(music) In music, one of the most basic structural units of melody. It consists of a group of notes that give the impression of belonging together. There is no fixed length for a phrase, but the most usual is four bars. In the 19th century, some composers, such as Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and...

philanthropy
Love felt by an individual towards humankind. It is expressed through acts of generosity and charity and seeks to promote the greater happiness and prosperity of humanity. The term derives from the Greek, but the notion of caring for more than oneself and one's immediate family is the basis for all civilizations. It can be found in the writings...

phonology
In linguistics, the study of the sound systems of languages. Its main activity is the discovery of the distinctive sounds, or phonemes, of the language. A person who is phonologically aware can create rhymes and use alliteration. People with speaking and reading difficulties can have problems with the blending of component sounds

phrasal verb
Grammatical construction in which a verb is followed by a preposition or an adverb, and the combined meaning is different from the sum of the parts. An example is when we talk about whether a plan will `come off`, however this pattern does not necessarily imply a phrasal verb, as in `looked up`

pitcher plant
Any of various insectivorous plants, the leaves of which are shaped like a pitcher and filled with a fluid that traps and digests insects. (Genera especially Nepenthes and Sarracenia, family Sarraceniaceae.)

pistachio
Deciduous tree of the cashew family, native to Europe and Asia, whose green nuts are eaten salted or used to enhance and flavour food, especially ice cream. (Genus Pistacia vera, family Anacardiaceae.)

pink
Any of a group of annual or perennial plants that have stems with characteristic swellings (nodes) and scented flowers ranging in colour from white through pink to purple. Members of the pink family include carnations, sweet williams, and baby's breath (Gypsophila paniculata). (Genus Dianthus, family Caroph...

pine
Any of a group of coniferous, resin-producing trees with evergreen needle-shaped leaves; there are about 70–100 species of pines, making them the largest family of conifers. (Genus Pinus, family Pinaceae.) The oldest living species is probably the bristlecone pine ...

pimpernel
Any of a group of plants belonging to the primrose family, comprising about 30 species mostly native to Western Europe. The European scarlet pimpernel (A. arvensis) grows in cornfields, the small star-shaped flowers opening only in full sunshine. It is naturalized in North America. (Genus Anagallis, family ...

pimento
Any of several evergreen trees belonging to the myrtle family, found in tropical parts of the New World. The dried berries of the species P. dioica are used as a spice (see allspice). Also, a sweet variety of capsicum pepper (more correctly spelled pimiento). (Pimento genus Pimenta, family Myrtaceae.)

Pizarro, Francisco
Spanish conquistador. He took part in the expeditions of Vasco Núñez de Balboa and others. He began exploring the northwest coast of South America in 1524, and, with the permission of the king of Spain, conquered Peru in 1531 with 180 followers. The Inca king Atahualpa was seized and murdered. In 1535 Pizarro founded the Peruvian city of ...

Pitt, William, the Younger
British Tory prime minister 1783–1801 and 1804–06. He raised the importance of the House of Commons, clamped down on corruption, carried out fiscal reforms, and effected the union with Ireland. He attempted to keep Britain at peace but underestimated the importance of the French Revolution ...

Pitt, William, the Elder
British Whig politician, `the Great Commoner`. As paymaster of the forces 1746–55, he broke with tradition by refusing to enrich himself; he was dismissed for attacking the Duke of Newcastle, the prime minister. He served effectively as prime minister in coalition governments 1756–61 (successfully conducting the Seven Years&...

pitchblende
Brownish-black mineral, the major uranium ore, consisting mainly of uranium oxide (UO2). It also contains some lead (the final, stable product of uranium decay) and variable amounts of most of the naturally occurring radioactive elements, which are products of either the decay or the fissioning of uranium isotopes. The ur...

Pitcairn Islands
British colony in Polynesia, 5,300 km/3,300 mi northeast of New Zealand; area 47 sq km/18 sq mi; population (1996) 58. The capital is Adamstown. Products are coconuts, bananas, breadfruit, yams, pineapples, tomatoes, oranges, and pineapples; souvenirs are sold to passing ships

Pissarro, Camille
French painter. A leading member of the Impressionists, he experimented with various styles, including pointillism, in the 1880s. Though he is closely linked with pictures of the French countryside and peasant life, he also painted notable street scenes, as in Boulevard Montmartre (1897; Hermitage, St Petersburg). Born in the...

Pisistratus
Athenian tyrant. Although of noble family, he became the leader of the anti-aristocratic party, and seized power in 561 BC. He was twice expelled, but recovered power securely from 546 BC until his death. Ruling as a tyrant under constitutional forms (the historians Herodotus and Thucydides both attest that he left the rules and regulations of ...

Pisa
(town) City in Tuscany, Italy, on the River Arno, 70 km/43 mi west of Florence; population (2001 est) 85,400. Industries include tourism, engineering, and the production of pharmaceuticals, glass, and textiles. Its famous camp...

Pisanello
Italian painter and medallist. He painted religious works and portraits in a style untouched by recent Florentine innovations, as in Madonna and Child with St George and St Anthony Abbot (c. 1445; National Gallery, London). He was also an outstanding portrait medallist. His frescoes in the Palazzo Ducale in...

Pirandello, Luigi
Italian dramatist, novelist, and short-story writer. His plays, which often deal with the themes of illusion and reality, and the tragicomic absurdity of life, include Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore/Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921), and Enrico IV/Henry IV (1922). Among his novels a...

piracy
The taking of a ship, aircraft, or any of its contents, from lawful ownership, punishable under international law by the court of any country where the pirate may be found or taken. When the craft is taken over to alter its destination, or its passengers held to ransom, the term is hijacking. Piracy is also used to describe infringement of copyrigh...

Pinyin
Chinese phonetic alphabet approved in 1956 by the People's Republic of China, and used since 1979 in transcribing all names of people and places from Chinese ideograms into other languages using the English/Roman alphabet. For example, the former transcription Chou En-lai becomes Zhou Enlai, Hua Kuo-feng became Hua Guofeng, Teng Hsi...

Pinturicchio
Painter from Perugia. He produced fresco series for both the Borgia Apartments in the Vatican, painted in the 1490s, and in the Piccolomini Library of Siena Cathedral, 1503–08, illustrating the history of Pius II. He went to Rome 1481 as one of Perugino's assistants in the decorating of the Sistine Chapel. He became very successful, his sk...

Pinter, Harold
English dramatist and poet. He specializes in the tragicomedy of the breakdown of communication, broadly in the tradition of the Theatre of the Absurd, for example The Birthday Party (1958; filmed 1968) and The Caretaker (1960). He was awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature. Other plays include
Pik Pobedy
Highest peak in the Tian Shan mountain range on the Kyrgyz-Chinese border, at 7,439 m/24,406 ft

pint
Imperial dry or liquid measure of capacity equal to 20 fluid ounces, half a quart, one-eighth of a gallon, or 0.568 litre. In the USA, a liquid pint is equal to 0.473 litre, while a dry pint is equal to 0.550 litre

Pinero, Arthur Wing
English dramatist. A leading exponent of the `well-made` play, he enjoyed great contemporary success with his farces, beginning with The Magistrate (1885). More substantial social drama followed with The Second Mrs Tanqueray (1893), and comedies including Trelawny of the `Wells`...

Pindling, Lynden
(Oscar) Bahamian politician, prime minister 1967–92. In the 1960s he became leader of the centrist Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), formed in 1953. Attracting support from the islands' demographically dominant black community, the PLP won the 1967 House of Assembly elections, the firs...

Pilsudski, Józef
(Klemens) Polish nationalist politician, dictator from 1926. Born in Russian Poland, he founded the Polish Socialist Party in 1892 and was twice imprisoned for anti-Russian activities. During World War I he commanded a Polish force to fight for Germany and evicted the Russians from eastern...

Pilgrim Fathers
Settlers who sailed from Plymouth, Devon, England, in the Mayflower on 16 September 1620 to found the first colony in New England, North America, at New Plymouth, Massachusetts. Of the 102 passengers about a third were Puritan refugees. The Pilgrims originally set sail for Virginia...

Pilate, Pontius
Roman procurator of Judea AD 26–36. The New Testament Gospels describe his reluctant ordering of Jesus' crucifixion, but there has been considerable debate about his actual role in it. Pilate was unsympathetic to the Jews; his actions several times provoked riots, and in AD 36 he was recalled to Rome to account for the brutal suppressi...

Pigs, Bay of
Inlet on the south coast of Cuba about 145 km/90 mi southwest of Havana. It was the site of an unsuccessful invasion attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro by some 1,500 US-sponsored Cuban exiles 17–20 April 1961; 1,173 were taken prisoner. The failure of the invasion strengthened Castro's power in Cuba and his lin...

Pietism
Religious movement within Lutheranism in the 17th century that emphasized spiritual and devotional faith rather than theology and dogma. It was founded by Philipp Jakob Spener (1635–1705), a minister in Frankfurt, Germany, who emphasized devotional meetings for `groups of the Elect` rather than biblical learning; he wrote the <...

Piero di Cosimo
Florentine, idiosyncratic (if not mentally unstable) painter. As well as religious paintings, he produced inventive pictures of mythological subjects, often featuring fauns and centaurs, like the Forest Fire (c. 1505; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford). The son of Lorenzo di Piero, he was the pupil of Cosimo Rossell...

Piero della Francesca
Painter from Borgo San Sepulcro in Umbria. Active in Arezzo and Urbino, he was one of the major artists of the 15th century. His work has a solemn stillness and unusually solid figures, luminous colour, and carefully calculated compositional harmonies. It includes several important fresco series and panel paintings such as the Flagellation...

Piedmont
Region of northern Italy, comprising the provinces of Alessandria, Asti, Biella, Cuneo, Novara, Turin, Verbania, and Vercelli; area 25,399 sq km/9,807 sq mi; population (2001 est) 4,166,500. One of the richest regions in Italy, it borders Switzerland to the north and France to the west, and is surrounded, except to the east, by the Alps...

Pict
Roman term for a member of the peoples of northern Scotland, possibly meaning `painted` (tattooed). Of pre-Celtic origin, and speaking a Celtic language which died out in about the 10th century, the Picts are thought to have inhabited much of England before the arrival of the Celtic Britons. They were united with the Celtic Scots unde...

piccolo
Woodwind instrument, the smallest member of the flute family, with a brilliant and penetrating tone. It sounds an octave higher than the flute, and for this reason is sometimes known as the ottavino (Italian, `octave`). Antonio Vivaldi composed three concertos for the piccolo, and it can also be heard in the first movem...

Picasso, Pablo Ruiz y
Spanish artist, chiefly active in France. Picasso was one of the most inventive and prolific talents in 20th-century art. His Blue Period 1901–04 and Rose Period 1904–06 preceded the revolutionary Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907; Museum of Modern Art, New York), which paved the way for cubism. In the early 1...

Picardy
Region of northern France, bordered by the English Channel to the west and Champagne to the south, including the Aisne, Oise, and Somme départements; area 19,399 sq km/7,490 sq mi; population (1999 est) 1,857,500. Most of Picardy is occupied by a chalky limestone plateau, while its central Somme River valley is m...

Pisces
Inconspicuous zodiac constellation, mainly in the northern hemisphere between Aries and Aquarius, near Pegasus. It is represented as two fish tied together by their tails. The Circlet, a delicate ring of stars, marks the head of the western fish in Pisces. The constellation contains the vernal equinox, the point at which the Sun's path around t...

pitch
(chemistry) In chemistry, a black, sticky substance, hard when cold, but liquid when hot, used for waterproofing, roofing, and paving. It is made by the destructive distillation of wood or coal tar, and has been used since antiquity for caulking wooden ships

pixel
Single dot on a computer screen. All screen images are made up of a collection of pixels, with each pixel being either off (dark) or on (illuminated, possibly in colour). The number of pixels available determines the screen's resolution. Typical resolutions of microcomputer screens vary from 640 ...

pipit
Any of various sparrow-sized ground-dwelling songbirds of the genus Anthus of the family Motacillidae, order Passeriformes

piranha
Any South American freshwater fish of the genus Serrusalmus, in the same order as cichlids. They can grow to 60 cm/2 ft long, and have razor-sharp teeth; some species may rapidly devour animals, especially if attracted by blood

pipefish
Any of various long-snouted, thin, pipelike marine fishes in the same family (Syngnathidae) as seahorses. The great pipefish Syngnathus acus grows up to 50 cm/1.6 ft. The male has a brood pouch for eggs and developing young, in which he carries the eggs from three to four different females. The eggs hatch in five to six w...

pinworm
Nematode worm Enterobius vermicularis, an intestinal parasite of humans

pilotfish
Small marine fish Naucrates ductor of the family Carangidae, which also includes pompanos. It hides below sharks, turtles, or boats, using the shade as a base from which to prey on smaller fish. It is found in all warm oceans and grows to about 36 cm/1.2 ft

pilchard
Any of various small, oily members of the herring family, Clupeidae, especially the commercial sardine of Europe Sardina pilchardus, and the California sardine Sardinops sagax. In March 1995 a mystery virus or toxin began causing the deaths of millions of pilchards in the oceans south of Australia, killing adul...

pikeperch
Any of various freshwater members of the perch family, resembling pikes, especially the walleye Stizostedion vitreum, common in Europe, western Asia, and North America. It reaches over 1 m/3 ft

pike
Any of a family Esocidae in the order Salmoniformes, of slender, freshwater bony fishes with narrow pointed heads and sharp, pointed teeth. The northern pike Esox lucius, of North America and Eurasia, may reach a length of 2.2 m/7 ft and a weight of 9 kg/20 lb. Other kinds of pike include muskellunges, up to 2.2 m/7 f...

pigeon
Bird of the family Columbidae, order Columbiformes, distinguished by its large crop, which becomes glandular in the breeding season and secretes a milky fluid (`pigeon's milk`) that aids digestion of food for the young. There are many species and they are found worldwide. New World spec...

pig
Any even-toed hoofed mammal of the family Suidae. They are omnivorous, and have simple, non-ruminating stomachs and thick hides. The Middle Eastern wild boar Sus scrofa is the ancestor of domesticated breeds; it is 1.5 m/4.5 ft long and 1 m/3 ft high, with formidable tusks, but not naturally aggressive. The sm...

pituitary gland
Major endocrine gland of vertebrates, situated in the centre of the brain. It is attached to the hypothalamus by a stalk. The pituitary consists of two lobes. The posterior lobe is an extension of the hypothalamus, and is in effect nervous tissue. It stores two hormones synthesized in the hypothalamu...

pineal body
Cone-shaped outgrowth of the vertebrate brain. In some lower vertebrates, it develops a rudimentary lens and retina, which show it to be derived from an eye, or pair of eyes, situated on the top of the head in ancestral vertebrates. In fishes that can change colour to match their background, the pineal perceives the light level and controls the...