This is a new edition of this book; the last edition came out in 2013 and was also covered in these columns (RR 2014/145), and hence, this shorter review. As the title says it is about pharmaceutical medicine, that is, the science of medical pharmacy. It is not a book about medicines. The need for a new edition is partly driven by the rapidly increasing understanding of the working of the genome. [I have added a reference (Carey, 2015) to a popular account of some of this field that I recently read]. Another driver is changes in aspects of product quality, safety and supply chain control. There are about 700 new entries which is about a third more than the previous edition. Many of the entries have been rewritten or expanded. There is a glossary of abbreviation and acronyms. The number of entries (about 1,600 items) in the glossary has doubled since the publication of the past edition.
A selection of entries will give some idea of the scope of the book. I was pleased to see that Biobank gets an entry as I have been one of their sample since it started. Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products is one of the many official bodies included. Performance Drugs is a term for erectile dysfunction drugs. This is one of the few drug groups mentioned; I looked for beta blockers and calcium channel, two hypertension products I take, but they were not listed. Intervention Trials is one of many terms to do with drug development and testing. Perussel’s Law is one of those joke laws that are a reminder to all of us. Many genetic terms like mRNA are included, reflecting on this major growth area. There are some terms that are applicable to herbal medicine: Botanical Drug Product includes both plant and animal origins and Herbal Drug Products include only plant. Braille is included as there are standards relating to Braille labelling. I hope these examples show the wide range of this dictionary. The included terms are connected by see references.
Clearly this is a useful book and would suit students of pharmacy. It may also be of use to practicing pharmacists as they keep up with changes in their industry. However, it seems rather expensive compared to some other paperback dictionaries I have reviewed.
