More than a basic dictionary, this sixth edition of Stedman's Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing includes ten appendices covering areas such as assessment and care, infection control, and drug information. Over 4,000 new terms have been added, to bring the total to 54,000. The dictionary is easy to use, with a guide on the inside cover and a table of contents following the title page. British and American spellings are provided. Definitions are easy to understand, with some cross‐referencing and abbreviations.
An Illustrations Index follows the lists of topic consultants, publishing representatives and reviewers. Along with illustrations integrated into individual entry terms and into some of the appendices, a 40‐page anatomic atlas and a 32‐page section with diagnostic medicine, imaging techniques, and condition images are inserted in two different places in the midst of the vocabulary section. These could better have been placed as appendices as they have been given a different page numbering system and may confuse hurried readers. Illustration sources are cited, following the Illustrations Index. The citations are arranged alphabetically by first author. Images are generally of excellent quality, with clear detail. The anatomic atlas has its own table of contents.
The accompanying CD‐ROM offers audio pronunciations for over 48,000 words, videos from Acland's DVD Atlas of Human Anatomy, and a spellchecker. The associated website includes an image bank and PDF versions of the appendices. Registration is required to access the image bank and PDF files.
The table of contents to the appendices is located at the beginning of the appendices, separate from the table of contents at the beginning of the book. Three new appendices have been added: “Commonly used herbs and their side effects/or drug interactions”; “General cancer classification, staging, and grouping systems”; and “Pain assessment tools”. Other appendices include: “Units of measure”; “Affixes, abbreviations, and symbols”; “Physical terminology”; “Reference values”; “Body mass and body surface calculations”; “Diet and nutrition”; “Assessment and care”; “Infection control”; “Drug information and professional [contact] information”.
Definitions for American terms feature more prominently than for terms specific to Britain. For example, there is an entry for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but not for NHS. The appendices also emphasise the USA over Britain, although some information specific to Canada and Australia is offered in the International Dietary Guidelines appendix. The Recommended Immunizations chart is from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This widely respected dictionary is recommended for nurses, allied health professionals and health support staff. Readers from the UK will need to exercise caution when using the appendices. English speakers from all countries will find the dictionary useful for quick reference.
