Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary (Standard Version) (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

'Terse,clear,accurate' -JAMA, from a review of the 27th edition "Carries on an impressive tradition of accuracy, clarity, and conciseness going back to the early years of the century, and users who prefer the medical dictionary with the brick-red covers will find...the same amiable and authoritative guide they have come to respect and trust." -JAMA "Dorland's is reasonably priced and would be useful to anyone in the health care field. I cannot imagine a practitioner who would not want a copy of this dictionary in the office." -The Journal of Family Practice

Review

Encompassing the whole of medicine today, this dictionary provides comprehensiveness, accuracy, clarity and ease to use.
'Anticancer Research' --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 2088 pages
• Publisher: W.B. Saunders Company; 29th edition (April 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0721662544
• ISBN-13: 978-0721662541
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.9 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #900,840 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

275 of 284 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dorland's: a big disappointment, October 3, 1999

By	Ken Saladin <[e-mail]> (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary: Standard Edition (Hardcover)

As a medical textbook author, I felt a need to add Dorland's to my increasing collection of medical dictionaries, so I ordered a copy from Amazon.com. Now that I have used it for a couple of weeks, I can remember why I chose Stedman's back when my budget was more limited and I compared the two dictionaries with an eye to buying just one of them. I am repeatedly disappointed when I look up terms in Dorland's. Pronunciations are often lacking (e.g., for the cranial foramina and skeletal muscles), the illustrations are meager and inferior to Stedman's, and many terms are missing. Dorland's doesn't even define first-, second-, and third-degree burns, for example, and the levator labii superioris muscle and levator labii superioris alaeque nasi are completely missing from both the body of the dictionary and the appendix of muscle tables. Such omissions reflect either inexcusable carelessness or inexplicable editorial caprice. A professional writer or physician should have Dorland's on hand as a backup source. I find it useful for corroborating some facts and getting alternative meanings of words. But I still go to Stedman's as my first resort; it does a far better job. For a student or professional person with budget for just one good medical dictionary, I recommend Stedman's or the more economical but very good Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary.

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best medical dictionary., August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary: Standard Edition (Hardcover)

Dorland's and Stedman's are the two premier medical dictionaries. Any physician or other person who requires frequent reference to medical definitions should probably own both (I do). Both books have occasional errors; each book has terms that the other lacks; and each book has some definitions that are superior to the those in the other. However, if you purchase only one, I recommend Dorland's. In my opinion, Dorland's has definitions for more terms, better definitions and fewer errors.

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The 30th edition of Dorland's is a real delight., April 7, 2004

By	D. A Flory (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 30th Edition (Hardcover)

I'm not in a position to criticize anyone who prefers Mosby's or Stedman's dictionaries; however I have used all three and found the 30th ed. of Dorland's to be my personal favorite.

1. Anyone who uses books regularly knows the importance of a dictionary's binding and printing. Dorland's has a beautiful layout, easy-to-read font, and subtle and effective illustrations. The paper is top quality, and few books these days are so well bound. The book stays open at any page and when shut feels like a brick. The binding doesn't flex and the pages don't sag.

2. I am not a specialist, but I haven't found any word from a medical textbook that wasn't easy to locate and very well defined. The quality of the illustrations is really striking--particularly for anatomical terms. I find an excess of pictures and photographs distracting in a dictionary, and Dorland's are always well-chosen and relevant.

3. The CD-ROM/registration code is a nice plus. I can't comment on the PDA feature, but the access to the internet version of Dorland's is an incredible time saver if one happens to be working at the computer.

I love this dictionary. If I had time I'd read it cover to cover. The only downside is the size. There's definitely a place for Taber's or some other compact dictionary for travel, etc.

P.S.-- Thanks to Ken Saladin for his excellent critical review. The editors at Dorland's must have been listening too, since the 30th edition has all the terms he listed as missing (and hopefully others as well!)