Customer Reviews

Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary -Thumb-Indexed Version

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This dictionary has enough information to be useful for even the most learned medical professional and is still simple enough to use to be accessible to any mildly educated member of society. The dictionary is much more than simply a dictionary. Consisting of the vocabulary section and then some appendices, this 2270-page godsend is chockfull of definitions, examples, full-color diagrams, charts, diagnoses, and more. The preface to the dictionary actually lists all of the features of this cyclopedic dictionary, so I will regurgitate it here:
1. Vocabulary
2. Easy-to-Use Entry Format
3. Alphabetization
4. Eponyms (including biographies of those after whom things were named)
5. Definitions
6. Pronunciations
7. Singular/Plural Forms
8. Etymologies
9. Abbreviations
10. Encyclopedic Entries
11. Illustrations
12. Tables
13. Adjective Forms of Words
14. Cautionary Statements
15. Synonyms (Very helpful!)
16. Cross-References
17. Appendices (Basically all the stuff that doesn't fit well within the dictionary, like medical terminology prefixes, suffixes, and combining forms as well as lots of various classification schemes)
18. Nursing Diagnoses Appendix

The book comes with a trial subscription to Taber's Online. This is my only complaint. Taber's Online does not appear to have received the thorough thought that the printed version did. I found that it was generally unhelpful, but you don't have to pay any extra for it, so I'm not complaining, just commenting. Overall, I would strongly recommend buying the Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary.

Having taken a medical terminology class at the hospital where I work, I quizzed the instructor on a suitable medical dictionary in his opinion that I could use for my daily work needs. He suggested a few including this one. Next day in work, I was about to ask a few of the many people in my department what their preferences were but decided to take a stroll around the cubicles instead. Sure enough, nearly every cubicle I passed, held a copy of this dictionary. After purchasing a copy, I wasn't surprised to see why. The book is very easy to follow and understand so, if you find yourself in need of this subject, I'd definitely recommend Taber's.

I can't tell you how invaluable this book is to me. It is safe to say I would be lost without it. I am in a bridge nursing program (RN-Masters) and have never worked in the medical feild before. Upper division textbooks are usually unhelpful because they contain no glossary at the back of the book. If your books are the same way this book is a necessity!

Definitions are in plain english rather than crazy medical jargon so you rarely have to filp pages to define words in the definition of the original word in question. Even better are the multitude of pictures and diagrams that really solidify your understanding of select terms.

There are some additional niceties specifially for nurses or nursing students. The appendix is filled with useful nursing guides such as:
1. Nutrition and dietary refrence values
2. Herbal medicines and their uses
3. Normal refrence laboratory values
4. Prefixes and suffixes
5. Latin and Greek nomenclature
6. Medical abbreviations
7. Units of measurement
8. Mini English-Spanish-French dictionary inclusive of specific medical phrases that may be used on the job
9. Classification of poisons and poisoning, including pathology, symptoms, and medical treatment
10. Addresses for health care resources and organizations, and nursing organizations
11. NIC and NOC lists
12. Nursing diagnosis
13. Conceptual models and theories of nursing

Those additional resources alone are worth the price of this book. You may be on a tight budget, but this is one book you cannot afford to be without.

I bought this dictionary because it was one of recommended texts for my medical transcription course.
PROS:
1. The version I have is thumb-indexed so it's very convenient.
2. It has a CD-ROM so you can install the dictionary into your computer, copy, cut and paste definitions, or just read them while you are typing your transcript.
3. After the word definition, it gives you the origins of the word. THis is very helpful since a foundation in medical terminology is essential for a medical transcriptionist.
4. The CD allows you to search medical phrases and will give you all the entries where the phrases may be found. Example: If you type in "column of Bertin", it will give you entries where "column" and "Bertin" appear. By clicking on the entries, you will find that this is not listed under C but under B: "Bertin, column of".
CONS:
1. The CD-ROM should be in your drive while you are using it on your PC desktop.
2. Dictionary sometimes doesn't pop up when you want it to while you are typing a document, even when the CD is inside the drive. Sometimes it asks you to go online. I haven't mastered exactly why it does this because at other times, it will immediately come up.
3. Biggest con: some words aren't there at all. Etoposide is an example. The seventh cranial nerve (facial) isn't listed under "facial nerve" or "seventh cranial nerve". This is funny because all the other cranial nerves are listed under 2 entries each: e.g., "first cranial nerve" lists the olfactory nerve and its definition and description; under "olfactory nerve" you will see it referred to as a cranial nerve. Cranial nerves I-XII are listed as such except for the seventh. Normocephalic is another term that doesn't appear, but is commonly heard on trancription. These are the words I can remember not being there because they are the ones that I looked up most recently to make sure I had the correct spelling (in the case of normocephalic, most new transcriptionists would transcribe it as normal cephalic; if the doctor eats his words while dictating, you wouldn't even know the difference). There have been others that I had to look up in other medical dictionaries or word books.
VERDICT: If you are a medical student or medical transcriptionist, you need other resources besides this book.

The Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary is probably the best medical dictionary that you can buy today. It is very definitive in it's defintions and the charts, illustrations, and pictures make this medical dictionary vey fun. Whether you are already a doctor or are a medical student this dictionary is an absolute must. When I started to show an interest in medicine this was my first medical book. Whenever you are watching or reading something that pertains to medicine and something comes up that you are not sure about, this dictionary will solve your problems. I do have one problem with this dictionary, however. The pages are very thin and rip easily. This is not a biggy but is still something that I'm not too crazy about.

This medical dictionary is the best of all other medical dictionaries that are out there today. I recommend this to a medical student, a doctor, or anybody that holds and interest in medicine. This dictionary is an absolute must. Be sure to check this dictionary out, it has valuable information.

Happy Reading!!!

When the theme is Medical Dictionary, Dorland's and Stedman's often come to mind. No doubt, both are very good. But the truth is that apart from their CD-ROM versions, one may require the services of a powerlifter in order to lug either of the two around. This is where 'Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary' proves to be a winner. It delivers a near Stedman's (or Dorland's) output for half the weight. It is concise, accurate, and well-illustrated. Unless you are a medical transcriptionist, there is little (or no) need for a giant or pocket-sized dictionary if you already own Taber's.

Anyone that has a necessity, or desire, to know more about what the terms used by their doctor, or teacher, means should pick up this book. I have reached for it numerous times for clarification. It is very easy to understand and the pictures and illustrations are excellent. By far the most user friendly medical terminology reference book I have come across.

I used this dictionary for many courses in the allied health discipline. I especially liked the way the dictionary categorized diseases by etiology, symptoms, course, and treatment. The appendices and illustrations were useful as well. One drawback to the dictionary is that some of the terms are hard to find; sometimes, one must flip back and forth while it leads you on a wild goose chase. As a whole, Taber's is an excellent pick for anyone choosing health as a clinical practice.

In 1974 I took a class in medical technique for medical assistants. The teacher had a text to teach yourself medical terminology. I went to Pitt Medical book store while in Oakland and bought this book. I loved it and it came in quite handy as I was hired the same day by a surgeon to manage his office when I went for an appointment. The book is very portable and needs to be revised often as medical advances and new terms come into being. It is very easy to understand, as my degree was to work with children, not manage a doctor's office for which I had five days to learn how to do, and work with terms of a General Surgeon's world. I managed the office quite successfully, never having any experience in the field and I needed to work with medical terms handed to me to record the doctor's work correctly and file insurance forms accurately, a one person operation. This book was very helpful to understand exactly what the surgery was that the doctor did and I learned so much from this book to help me with a job I was little prepared for in advance. I loved my job and I became very interested in medicine, as the doctor embellished anything I wanted more information on that he did. I love this book. Mrs. Symmington

Before I even took Medical Terminology (which I highly recommend) I had an early Taber's. Now I have a more recent one, and it is still a very frequent reference, as it contains not only the terms, but the portions of words, as learned in med-term, so you can piece together what a Dr may use instead of the more popular term.
A note: Try to get the most recent copy; older ones may be missing more current terms.
Highly rated, often borrowed. Which reminds me, I suggest you put your name plate in it, if you are going to use it - it may damage the Collector's value, but if you are using it, you would anyway.