More than just a dictionary, Medical Meanings explores the history of medical terms. Written with bracing wit and a refreshing lack of pretense, this new edition has been completely revised and sharpened, and nearly 300 new words and phrases have been added. Whether you are a student, physician, or word connoisseur, a delightful reading experience awaits.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Originally published in 1984, this etymology of over 2000 medical terms has been heavily revised for its first edition with a new publisher. Each entry consists of a 50- to 100-word description, usually tracing the term to its old English, Latin, or Greek root. Dates are rarely given for the etymologies, so the reader does not know when or where the term was actually coined. Since definitions of the terms are not included, a general reader may need to use this book in conjunction with a standard medical source such as Stedman's Medical Dictionary (Williams & Wilkins, 1995. 26th ed.). Written by a physician fascinated with words rather than by a lexicographer, this book is very interesting but not vital to any collection; Henry Skinner's Origin of Medical Terms (1961. o.p.) is still a better source.?Eric D. Albright, Galter Health Sciences Lib., Northwestern Univ., Chicago
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Understanding medical terminology can be a challenge. There are several excellent comprehensive medical dictionaries available, but they provide only brief information about the origins of the words that they define. Serious students of language will want more depth. This title is a delightful supplement to the traditional dictionary of medical terms. It is a revision of Haubrich's Medical Meanings, published by Harcourt in 1984, which was itself an update of Henry Alan Skinner's Origin of Medical Terms (Williams & Wilkins, 1961).
The book has approximately 3,000 entries arranged in two columns per page. Arrangement is alphabetical with a few exceptions: broad categories such as colors, numbers, and phobias are grouped together under one heading. The entry headings are in boldface, and words within the entry in languages other than modern English are in italics. Greek terms are transliterated. Neither syllabication nor pronunciation is provided. The introduction contains instructions for using the book, a Greek transliteration table, and an invitation to send suggestions for improving the work to the author.
The entries are short etymological essays tracing the history of the word and offering witty comments. Hysterectomy, literally "cutting the uterus," leads to a discussion of Plato's belief that the uterus was an animal roaming freely within the female body and causing moodiness. The author states, "a safe assumption is that this notion was proclaimed and promoted, in the main, by men. From this anatomic designation comes the term hysteria, a term doubtless conceived by a confirmed male chauvinist."
Changes from the 1984 edition include some added terms and some revision to existing entries. Among the new terms are APACHE (an acronym for a means of evaluating critically ill patients), kuru, and REM. Ascorbic acid and masochism are among the entries that have been revised. A few entries, such as Saint Vitus Dance, have been dropped.
Although this is a small volume--the twenty-eighth edition of Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary (Saunders, 1994) has 115,000 entries--it makes a unique contribution to medical reference by focusing on history and etymology rather than clinical usage. Students of linguistics will find it as useful as students of the health sciences. Those who want more than a definition will find the book enjoyable and entertaining. It is an excellent companion to traditional dictionaries. Since this is one type of medical book in which currency is not critical, libraries owning the 1984 edition may elect not to update unless the title is heavily used. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
William Safire, beware!,
By John S. Marr MD "tgkameron" (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Medical Meanings : A Glossary of Word Origins (Hardcover)
Dr. Haubrich's glossary is a clearly a labor of love as well as expertly researched tome of medical meanings. For those interested in etymology, his book is as much as a therapeutic massage to the intellect as Barnette's book (Ladyfingers & Nun's Tummies) is a sensual, cerebral tweeking of the palate. I stumbled across an advertisement for the book in a medical journal. Having spent a few months researching medical word origins, I gave up after reading this delightful book. It has no past (or future) competition. The advertisment was meant for physicians, but I believe that a much wider audience might well enjoy his meticulous research and muted humor. I enjoyed his mini-essay on the origin of the "Western blot", the tables explaining number and color origins, his whimsical asides on otherwise obscure (and pretentious) medical terminologies. I paid full price, and I would advocate for an amazon.com discount, as well as a pairing of the book with other more popular books on word origins. I would hope that the author plans a sequel, paperback edition and/or periodic updates to this delicious "word salad" of medical etymology! If William Safire uses this book for his column, he must give Dr. Haubrich proper attribution. He deserves it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Invaluable!,
By Late night reader (London UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Medical Meanings: A Glossary of Word Origins (Paperback)
I initially saw this product on google books when I got curious about why there is both an ileum and an ilium in the human body. As soon as I perused a few pages of it on there, I decided it was a book well worth having! As a medical student, I have had to learn a lot of unfamiliar terms in a very short period of time and I find knowing the origins really helps remember what is what; in particular, it made anatomy a lot easier. This book is the perfect balance between very informative and very readable, with occasional light humour. I would recommend it highly to any medical student or indeed anyone who is just curious as you can happily dip in and out of it, learning something really interesting on almost every page.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for etymology,
By DOmed (irvine, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Medical Meanings: A Glossary of Word Origins, Second Edition (Hardcover)
I am one of those people that learns and recalls better if I know the where the word came from and why it is called the way it is called. If you are one of those people, I highly recommend this book. It makes the medical world make a lot more sense.
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