a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function
<noun.body>
a government agency or instrument devoted to the performance of some specific function
<noun.group> The Census Bureau is an organ of the Commerce Department
(music) an electronic simulation of a pipe organ
<noun.artifact>
a periodical that is published by a special interest group
<noun.communication> the organ of the communist party
wind instrument whose sound is produced by means of pipes arranged in sets supplied with air from a bellows and controlled from a large complex musical keyboard
<noun.artifact>
a free-reed instrument in which air is forced through the reeds by bellows
<noun.artifact>
Organ \Or"gan\, n. [L. organum, Gr. ?; akin to ? work, and E. work: cf. F. organe. See {Work}, and cf. {Orgue}, {Orgy}.] 1. An instrument or medium by which some important action is performed, or an important end accomplished; as, legislatures, courts, armies, taxgatherers, etc., are organs of government.
2. (Biol.) A natural part or structure in an animal or a plant, capable of performing some special action (termed its function), which is essential to the life or well-being of the whole; as, the heart, lungs, etc., are organs of animals; the root, stem, foliage, etc., are organs of plants.
Note: In animals the organs are generally made up of several tissues, one of which usually predominates, and determines the principal function of the organ. Groups of organs constitute a system. See {System}.
3. A component part performing an essential office in the working of any complex machine; as, the cylinder, valves, crank, etc., are organs of the steam engine.
4. A medium of communication between one person or body and another; as, the secretary of state is the organ of communication between the government and a foreign power; a newspaper is the organ of its editor, or of a party, sect, etc. A newsletter distributed within an organization is often called its {house organ}. [1913 Webster +PJC]
5. [Cf. AS. organ, fr. L. organum.] (Mus.) A wind instrument containing numerous pipes of various dimensions and kinds, which are filled with wind from a bellows, and played upon by means of keys similar to those of a piano, and sometimes by foot keys or pedals; -- formerly used in the plural, each pipe being considered an organ.
The deep, majestic, solemn organs blow. --Pope.
Note: Chaucer used the form orgon as a plural.
The merry orgon . . . that in the church goon [go].
{Barrel organ}, {Choir organ}, {Great organ}, etc. See under {Barrel}, {Choir}, etc.
{Cabinet organ} (Mus.), an organ of small size, as for a chapel or for domestic use; a reed organ.
{Organ bird} (Zo["o]l.), a Tasmanian crow shrike ({Gymnorhina organicum}). It utters discordant notes like those of a hand organ out of tune.
{Organ fish} (Zo["o]l.), the drumfish.
{Organ gun}. (Mil.) Same as {Orgue} (b) .
{Organ harmonium} (Mus.), an harmonium of large capacity and power.
{Organ of Corti} (Anat.), a complicated structure in the cochlea of the ear, including the auditory hair cells, the rods or fibers of Corti, the membrane of Corti, etc. See Note under {Ear}.
{Organ pipe}. See {Pipe}, n., 1.
{Organ-pipe coral}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Tubipora}.
{Organ point} (Mus.), a passage in which the tonic or dominant is sustained continuously by one part, while the other parts move.
Organ \Or"gan\, v. t. To supply with an organ or organs; to fit with organs; to organize. [Obs.]
Thou art elemented and organed for other apprehensions. --Bp. Mannyngham.
A woman was in critical condition today after nine hours of surgery to receive a new liver, following a plea from track star Carl Lewis to help locate an organ.
If Bellamy had only known, his hero would have been mystified not only by organ music but also by cavernous echoes that seemed to issue from 100 yards behind his sofa.
Leaders "should resign without any delay" to make way for a new Politburo and government to carry out reforms, said the newspaper Junge Welt, organ of the Communist youth organization.
The only prescription drugs now covered by Medicare are a handful of particularly expensive ones such as anti-rejection medication for organ transplant patients.
In addition to the usual assortment of puppies, kittens, reptiles and fish, the store has a leopard that stars in commercials, a duck that used to appear on a children's program and an organ grinder's monkey that shares his cage with a toy fox terrier.
"Twelve infants were sufficient to show us this is not a feasible technique or solution" to the infant organ shortage, said Dr. Joyce Peabody, Loma Linda's chief of neonatology.
Every Sunday he played the church organ. Less fortunate were 'Bashful' and 'Sleepy'.
AIDS testing should be mandatory only for prison inmates, prospective immigrants, the military and blood and organ donors, a draft report by the American Medical Association's trustees said.
"One Million From All Walks of Life Demonstrate in Support of Hunger-Striking Students," read the banner headline on the People's Daily, the official organ of the Communist Party.
Young cats recover their balance in 10 to 14 days, people in four to 10 weeks, he said, and they use their eyes and the remaining balance organ to stay on an even keel.
"The concept of organs being bought and sold for money is entirely unacceptable in a civilized society," Health Minister Roger Freeman told a House of Commons committee during debate on proposed legislation outlawing organ sales.
Jamie's case raised questions about the procedures for determing who should receive organ transplants and the properiety of awarding organs on the basis of publicity.
Three of them travel the country giving occasional organ recitals and playing at silent film festivals. Brubacher says he's the only surviving resident organist at a movie theater.
Tests are done each visit on all of the organ systems, the condition of the blood, muscles, bones, hearing and vision.
This organ, which can control sleep, alertness and other body functions, seems to be reset daily by light.
When such an organ became available in Houston in mid-March, the Gulf Coast Independent Organ Procurement Organization was forced to relinquish it under the new rules.
Nor do the underground Moslem Brotherhood and other Islamic fundamentalist groups, which along with the PLO are outlawed by Israel, have a central spokesman or organ to expound them.
"The anencephalic issue can only add to that distrust and have a chilling effect on organ donation generally," he says.
Fanfare piles on fanfare, the soprano soloist Andrea Guiot threads her way through the tapestry, there is still room for the organ (Gaston Litaize) to top it all.
Bluestone said that anti-CD3, known as OKT3 in the form used on humans, has been used in more than 15,000 patients to stop rejection episodes following organ transplants.
"Sometimes we get a call on a Thursday afternoon saying that a church will be torn down on Monday, and can we find a home for the organ.
Or the growing use of organ transplants, such as the transplant of adrenal glands as a possible treatment for Parkinson's patients.
THE FACT that Germany's most august organ of conservative opinion is now concerned deeply about the practice of setting fire to foreigners shows things are getting out of hand.
Why is she now in my living room, slathered in Nutribel Nourishing Hydrating Emulsion and giggling about "The World's Worst Boyfriends"? The answer has to do with that official organ of girl-talk dissemination, the woman's magazine.
Reports of Badr's comments were published on Tuesday and Wednesday by the Socialist Labor Party's weekly newspaper Al-Shaab and the weekly Al-Ahali, organ of the opposition National Unionist Progressive Party.
The Afghan News Agency, an organ of the Hezb-i-Islami guerrillas, said guerrillas also shot down a military transport plane and a MiG-27 jet fighter with a U.S. Stinger missile.
"We are trying to be sensitive to those who want the hymns." And, after some debate, church officials decided to buy a compact, unobtrusive electronic organ for the new sanctuary. It finds good use in playing solemn background to spoken prayers.
The UDF Coordinating Council, the alliance's executive organ, was scheduled to meet Tuesday to hammer out a joint stand, and informed sources said heated discussions were expected.
They lit candles and listened to an organ playing somber music inside the small red brick church.
Surgeons removed the left lobe of Mrs. Smith's liver, or about one-third of the organ.