Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abortion
An abortion is the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death. This can occur spontaneously as a miscarriage, or be artificially induced through chemical, surgical or other means. Commonly, "abortion" refers to an induced procedure at any point in the pregnancy; medically, it is defined as a miscarriage or induced termination before twenty weeks' gestation, which is considered nonviable.
A pregnancy that ends earlier than 37 complete weeks of gestation, and where an infant is born and survives, is termed a premature birth. A pregnancy that ends with an infant dead upon birth at any gestational stage, due to causes including spontaneous abortion or complications during delivery, is termed a stillbirth.
In common parlance, the term "abortion" is synonymous with induced abortion of a human fetus. However, in medical texts, the word 'abortion' can also refer to spontaneous abortion (miscarriage).
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December 9, 2025
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Dec. 8, 2025 A large Mayo Clinic study shows that current guidelines fail to detect nearly 90% of people with familial hypercholesterolemia, a common inherited cause of dangerously high cholesterol. Many affected individuals already had early heart disease but ...
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Dec. 7, 2025 Researchers have found scientific support for the viral claim that rosemary can improve wound healing. Carnosic acid, a natural antioxidant in rosemary, promoted scar-free healing in mice by ...
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Dec. 5, 2025 Cedars-Sinai scientists have created a new experimental drug called TY1 that helps the body repair damaged DNA and restore injured tissue. The discovery came from studying tiny molecular messages ...
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