Stedman's Medical Dictionary [antikvár]

PUBLISHER'S PREFACE This 25th edition of Stedman's Medical Dictionary celebrates a tradition of over one and one-half centuries of American medical lexicography and an ongoing dedication of the dictionary to the needs of the medical and allied health professions. The tradition began in 1833 with publication of the first American medical dictionary, Dr. Robley Dunglison's A New Dictionary of Medical Science and Literature, a work that continued through successive editions until the 23rd edition, which was edited by Thomas Lathrop Stedman, M.D., in 1903. Five years later, respect for an "institution" from which he had learned the language of medicine prompted Dr. Stedman to wri:e a modernized version of the Dunglison dictionary. It was published in 1911 asy4 Practical Medical Dictionary and now is commonly known as Stedman's. By the early 1970s, Stedman's led the way as the first American medical dictionary to use database publishing in the form of electronic storage, retrieval, updating, and composition. Another first followed with the adaptation of this innovation to incorporate terms in the 1982 edition into electronic software as a stand-alone medical spelling reference and as part of editorial processing systems. Existing and developing technologies appear to offer limitless possibilities for development and dissemination of "word information" products drawn from the Stedman's database and tailored to the needs of any segment of the health-care market. "User-friendly" is a concept that has been universally applied to computer hardware and software to promote easy and efficient use by both novice and expert. It is a concept that is equally applicable to the print media. Making Stedman's easier to use and easier to read has been a major focus in the preparation of this edition, from design of its specifications through construction of its individual entries. First-time medical dictionary users as well as seasoned veterans will immediately appreciate the difference. Our increased page trim size enhances readability by allowing more white space around the vocabulary entries, wider text columns, and a larger and more open typeface. The traditional main entry-subentry format has been revamped to facilitate scanning for the sought-after term. In multiple-definition entries, the definition numbers are in boldface to distinguish each definition further. The phonetic spelling used for pronunciation of entry terms has been simplified to a broad transcription to avoid inclusion of esoteric phonetic symbols, the need to remember a variety of stylistic conventions, and frequent consultation of the pronunciation key. For the most part, the phonetic spelling incorporates commonly understood sounds that are encountered in everyday English words. The ''Stedman's Subentry Locator," which now, conveniently precedes section A of the vocabulary, is unique among medical dictionaries. It functions as an index of the adjectival or descriptive words in subentry terms cross-referenced to the main entries under which the subentries are found. This feature is a particularly useful tool for the dictionary user who is unfamiliar with the main entry-subentry format common to many medical and specialty dictionaries and who would seek a multiple-word term at the strictly alphabetical location common to general language dictionaries. Users of Stedman's are urged to read carefully the section, "How to Use This Dictionary," which follows this preface. There the organization, format, and style of the dictionary are clearly explained, and actual vocabulary entries serve as illustrative examples. An understanding of the principles of Stedman's organization, format, and style not only will save time through an efficient search for information but also will increase the amount of information obtained. The "Medical Etymology" section has been rewritten to concentrate on the principles