This general medical dictionary feels and looks authoritative and substantial – and the contents do not disappoint.
Now in its 5th edition, the dictionary has over 51,000 entries. Over 4,000 of these have been updated or included for the first time in this edition. There are over 900 images and photographs, including a special section of plates from the Anatomical Chart Company. Over 40 consultants from the nursing and health professions contributed to the enhancements of this latest edition, and their specialisms are given at the beginning of the work.
From the moment you open the front cover, it is obvious that the dictionary has been designed to be user‐friendly and straightforward. A tremendous amount of care has gone into its production, making it a pleasure to use. The front end papers, for example, have a nicely laid‐out How to Use this Dictionary guide. This includes a key to symbols and shaded boxes to indicate where, in an entry, you will find details of the etymology, the page on which an image may be found, cross‐references and synonyms. The guide also includes a diagram explaining what various symbols throughout the dictionary mean, e.g. a white “i” symbol in a blue box indicates the term is illustrated and you should look at the illustration index. Where a term has more than one spelling, [Br.] afterwards in brackets indicates the British spelling. Terms are marked in bold and are in slightly larger type than the definition. Pronunciation and etymology are given throughout. Synonyms are given where appropriate.
The dictionary combines traditional entries such as the Hippocratic Oath with newer conditions like the Norwalk virus and sick building syndrome. The cross‐referencing is particularly good: the NBC entry, for example, suggests you may also like to look at CBR, CBRNE, weapons of mass destruction, WMD, mass‐casualty weapons and MCW. There are a few small omissions – MRSA, for example, is not found under its abbreviation – it is necessary to look up Staphylococcus aureus instead. The tabbed alphabetical inserts down the side of the pages, while useful, mean that rather than finding yourself at the beginning of “M” you will find yourself in the middle of the entries.
The dictionary also includes a list of illustrations, details of the illustration sources, and very clear illustrations throughout. There is a combination of colour and black and white diagrams in the main text, with an additional section of colour and black and white plates. This extra section mainly uses photographs to illustrate a range of conditions, from rubella to surgical positions. The images themselves are extremely clear and unfussy, and very simply labelled. The anatomical plates section, as would be expected from the company which has provided them, again are very clearly reproduced, with labelled images from the skull to the full torso. Posterior and anterior views are given.
About one‐quarter of the book is given over to excellent appendices, which cover a huge range of useful reference material. These include a more extensive Building Blocks of Medical Language section; Units of Measure; common abbreviations used in medication orders (and a separate list of those not to be used); physical terminology; infection control; body mass values; diet and nutrition; pain management techniques; and information on professional titles, degrees and certificates. There is also an appendix on drug information, although this would need to be compared with British publications to ensure the validity of certain aspects such as dosages, which may vary between the UK and the USA.
Accompanying the dictionary is a free CD‐ROM. This provides the entire work in electronic format, with some extra features. This was tested on a Windows XP (Home user) platform. As you would expect, given how clear and easy to use the dictionary itself is, the set‐up instructions were straightforward and easy to follow. When setting up, you are asked if you would like to install a button in Word which means you do not have to open the dictionary separately. If you choose this option, you will need to close Word down and reopen; it puts it as an addition at the top of your screen by default. It also adds a link to your Tools menu. A mix of male and female voices is used on the CD‐ROM for pronunciation, with a mix of North American and British accents. The level of the sound files does, however, vary quite dramatically. Throughout US spelling is used: UK spellings are given but refer you to the US spelling (e.g. celiac disease). It is easy to copy and paste text and pictures from the CD‐ROM (although do check the copyright stance of the publisher before doing this!). It is also possible to resize the images, although the resize feature only has a very slight effect on the overall size of the image.
One feature of the CD‐ROM that enhances the printed text is small number of animations provided. Unfortunately, on the version I tested, not all of the animations worked, but those that did had the clarity and simplicity that you would expect from this dictionary. Quicktime is required for these animations and you will be prompted to install this if it is not already available on your computer.
It is easy to see what words you have looked up in the History section of the dictionary. There is also a user dictionary option, which allows you to add your own words and definitions, though you do need to look these up separately to the main dictionary using the Search Type option and then the user dictionary choice. I would recommend using the help file with the CD‐ROM; it is very clearly laid out and helps to make sense of aspects of it such as the user dictionary. The cross‐referencing works well in the electronic format: clicking on a highlighted text entry will take you to that reference.
This dictionary would be of use to those in a wide range of roles within medicine, including support staff such as secretaries and librarians. If there is a very slight criticism, it is that in some areas (such as the appendix on international dietary guidelines) the information is not specific enough to the UK/Europe. An effort has, however, obviously been made to redress the balance with British spellings of many terms. Overall this is a very useful, clear, user‐friendly dictionary – and exceptional value for money.
