Black's Medical Dictionary [antikvár]

preface to the twenty-fourth edition In preparing this new edition, many sections have been revised or rewritten and many new ones have been added. Among the sections that have been entirely rewritten are those on chronic alcoholism, detergents, influenza, leprosy, mental defectiveness, mental illness, otosclerosis, pregnancy tests, and poliomyelitis. The new sections include barrier creams, chapped hands, echo viruses, enteroviruses, poisonous berries, cerebral palsy, phenylketonuria, and many new drugs, including the more important of the hypotensive agents, the newer hypoglycaemic agents, and griseofulvin. These additions have been accompanied by a careful pruning of what can now be regarded as out of date, with the result that this new edition is only one page longer than its predecessor. With the rapid advances that are occurring in medicine, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a balance between the old and the new, but throughout the aim has been to preserve what is good in the old and to add only those advances which appear to be standing the test of time, the old and proven being retained until the new has been given adequate trial. W. A. R. T. London, 1961