CHAPTER 8

Terminology

MICHELLE L. ZAFRON

Understanding medical terminology is crucial to gaining competency with the literature of the health sciences. Reference tools that define terms or that provide insight into how such terms are formed are essential to learning medical terminology. Fortunately, there are a number of reference sources extant to assist with just this goal. These have been organized in the following categories: general medical dictionaries; specialized dictionaries, which can be used to locate etymologies or abbreviations; subject dictionaries; foreign-language dictionaries; and compilations of syndromes, eponyms, and quotations.

General Dictionaries

General medical dictionaries may be divided into two categories: unabridged and abridged. A good medical dictionary should be updated to keep up with the discoveries, treatments, procedures, techniques, and advances that occur in the field of medicine and the health sciences with each passing day. Unabridged medical dictionaries are necessary because they are comprehensive in nature. There are two major unabridged medical dictionaries used in the United States.

Considered by many to be the premier medical dictionary in the United States, Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary has been in existence for more than 100 years. The thirty-second edition offers definitions on more than 122,000 terms, 1,500 illustrations, and a very helpful section on medical etymology. Dorland’s is thumb-indexed, a useful feature in a book that weighs nearly nine pounds. There is a very practical guide on using the source printed on the inside of the front cover.

Entries have pronunciations, etymologies, synonyms, and subentries. MeSH headings are provided for some terms. Terms that are considered subentries are grouped under their larger headword. Definitions of the subentries are included within the body of the main entry. In cases of synonyms, they are cross-referenced to the preferred terms. Thus, Alzheimer’s disease leads to cross-references under dementia as well as disease. A CD-ROM is included with purchase of the print edition. It is also available as an e-book in several formats. Purchase also includes access to the website (http://www.dorlands.com/).

Now in its twenty-eighth edition, Stedman’s Medical Dictionary boasts over 107,000 entries. Its organization is not unlike Dorland’s; alphabetization is letter by letter. Subentries are defined within the framework of the main entry. Synonyms are also cross-referenced with “see” references, printed in blue, to preferred terms.

There are extensive illustrations and photographs. This edition features three large sections of color plates dispersed evenly throughout the dictionary. An effort was made to update the design in order to increase ease-of-use. The print edition of Stedman’s is thumb-indexed so that the reader can more quickly locate a term. Another feature is the addition of usage notes that are used extensively “to enhance the usefulness of the dictionary by alerting users to common errors of sense, spelling, and pronunciation, including confusion between words of similar form or meaning” (from the preface).

The expanded appendixes provide information on units of measure, abbreviations and symbols, medical etymology, physical terminology, reference values, coding and classification systems, body mass and surface calculations, tests, botanicals, and infection control.

Stedman’s Medical Dictionary Online (http://www.stedmansonline.com/) offers the same content as its print counterpart. Audio pronunciations are available for 60,000 of the more than 107,000 terms. The terms can be searched by keyword and browsed. There are approximately fifty videos of anatomy in motion. Users have the ability to create and save customizable entries through the use of the “My Stedman’s” feature.

Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary and Stedman’s Medical Dictionary enjoy comparable coverage, authority, depth, and breadth. There are, however, differences between the two. Some terms are present in one, but not the other. W. B. Saunders, the publisher for Dorland’s, continues to issue new editions. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins has not issued a new print edition of Stedman’s since 2006 and it may be preferable to opt for their online product. Although some databases and clinical tools have one or the other integrated into their products, they are not adequate substitutions for the dictionaries themselves. It can be difficult or impossible to access the dictionary directly from the database. Users may need to make many mouse clicks to get to the definition of the term they need. As there is no one current source with total comprehensiveness, it is recommended that all medical libraries make every effort to have both of these dictionaries, whether in traditional print, e-book, or online formats.

An abridged dictionary, Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary contains nearly 60,000 definitions. It is suitable for clinicians, students, allied health professionals, and nurses. Written in encyclopedic format, many entries have subheadings on etiology, symptoms, treatment, prognosis, and patient care. Cross-references and patient care sections are highlighted in red. The majority of the 1,000 illustrations are in color.

The latest edition includes increased coverage of alternative and complementary medicine, bioethics, evidence-based care, informatics, nutrition, and patient safety. There are also a number of very useful appendixes on topics such as medical emergencies, integrative therapies, laboratory values, nomenclature, phobias, immunization schedules, and health professions. One appendix of note is called “The Interpreter in Three Languages,” which provides questions and answers that could be used during an examination. It is available in e-book as well as traditional print format. Taber’s Online is the Web option for the same content and is available with a one-year subscription model. Taber’s Medical Dictionary for Mobile and Web, which has the same subscription model, also allows access to the content on a variety of mobile devices.

Black’s Medical Dictionary is meant not so much for the medical professional as it is for someone who wishes to have informed communication with the physician. Both the headings and language are broad, making the source more accessible to the layman. Over 5,000 terms and 100 diagrams and drawings are provided in this source. Entries are encyclopedic in nature; where appropriate, these contain cross-references. The format is clear and readable. It is also available as an e-book.

Providing definitions for over 11,000 medical terms, The Bantam Medical Dictionary is meant to be accessible to laymen as well as those in the health professions. In order to allow space for more current terminology, older and obsolete terms were removed from this edition. One particular feature worth noting is the inclusion of subentries, that is, definitions within definitions. The source is cross-referenced and has 150 illustrations. The layout is clear and readable, making this useful as a quick reference tool.

Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary Online is free to search. It is the dictionary that MedlinePlus incorporates into its site. It is written with a lay audience in mind and contains more than 59,000 entries. It can be searched by keyword or browsed. Most entries have audio files to aid in pronunciation. Entries are brief, but are cross-referenced. This is a source best suited to libraries serving consumers. Merriam-Webster also offers a free API that allows for the incorporation of their content onto the sites of noncommercial organizations.

Melloni’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary offers definitions for nearly 30,000 medical terms. The extensive illustrations, of which there are more than 3,000, play an enormous part in the usefulness of this source. Entries and illustrations are color coded in order to make the information more comprehensible. Where applicable, entries contain phonetic pronunciations, synonyms, cross-references, and abbreviations. Using easily understood language, Melloni’s is accessible to both the layman and the health sciences student. Despite its age, this source still has usefulness.

Medical Etymology

Etymological sources are critical to anyone attempting to comprehend medical terminology. Medical terms generally have their basis in Latin and Greek prefixes, suffixes, and roots. By understanding how medical words and phrases are formed, one can arrive at a reasonable definition of a word. While there are many ways to look up medical etymologies online, at this time, no truly authoritative single site replaces extant written sources. The following sources focus exclusively on etymology.

Origin of Medical Terms covers both medicine and the basic sciences. The book is illustrated. Some eponyms are included, although others are cross-referenced to the official medical term. Biographical information is provided for the eponymous individual. Some sources are cited and there is an extensive bibliography. Although the source has considerable breadth and scope, it is out of print.

According to its author, Medical Meanings: A Glossary of Word Origins was to fill the gap left since the last edition of Origin of Medical Terms was published. This source contains more than 3,000 words and phrases. Since the first edition, almost one-third have been revised and updated. Entries are cross-referenced. Medical Meanings is accessible to the layman. Both the format and the engaging narrative make for a very readable reference source.

A Dictionary of Medical Derivations: The Real Meaning of Medical Terms contains etymologies for 50,000 Latin and Greek words. It is meant to be accessible to anyone in the health sciences. The very readable section explaining how words are formed breaks down words into understandable parts. There is also a review listing of frequently used Latin and Greek roots used in medical words. Both terms and roots are indexed.

A Source-Book of Biological Names and Terms is somewhat different from the other books in this section. Although medical terms are included, the scope of the source is considerably larger; it encompasses biology as well as medicine. Over 13,000 words and phrases are listed and there are some illustrations. In general, an entry includes the language of origin, the etymologic meaning, and an example of its use in scientific nomenclature. With a few exceptions, geographic and biographical names are limited and confined to an appendix. There is a section on the formation of words.

Medical Abbreviations

The use of abbreviations and acronyms is pervasive in every field of health care and the health sciences. Their popularity is unsurprising given the length and complexity of some medical terms and phrases, and the general need for medical shorthand. However, as any given abbreviation can have multiple meanings, it becomes necessary not only for care but also for accurate reference tools. Given that some of these sources have listings that the others do not, more than one source is needed.

Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel

Join