The Historical Background of Chemistry

the result of the efforts of Drs. N. L. Hoerr, A. Osol, S. W. Chase, Carl F. Francis, and the co-operation of eighty-eight contributors. A special effort has been made to include some of the newer terms from the vocabularies of thoracic surgeons, psychiatrists, and tumor investigators. Oncologic terms have been increased by at least two hundred. In microbiology, the names of genera have been modernized to agree with the latest terminology. Pharmacologists will welcome this edition, especially since it includes and defines the numerous drugs described in The Pharmacopeia of the U.S.A. (U.S. Pharmacopeia) Fifteenth Revision (1955), and in the New and Non-official Remedies (1955). Anatomists will find the present edition particularly helpful because it contains the BNA (Basal Nomina Anatomica) terms with modifications and those BR (British Revision) terms that differ significantly from them. Also included are parts of the old terminology (OT) and the recent modifications suggested by the International Nomenclature Commission. From this reviewer's appraisal, it appears that the second edition is much more extensive than the so-called "first" edition (a revision of Gould's Medical Dictionary, 5th ed., 1941). The definitions are accurate, and in many instances several definitions are provided where necessary. The 1956 edition includes the new terms and usages which evolved with the myriad medical advances during the first half of the twentieth century. Included are 45 illustrative plates, several of which are in color. The illustrations are well done and correctly labeled. They will be useful to the student of human biology and the practitioner alike. The appendix consists of 116 pages of tables of information ranging from anatomy (arteries, bones, joints and ligaments, muscles, nerves, and veins), blood constituents, chemical elements, enzymes, hormones, and isotopes to prescription writing, vitamins, and weights and measures. This dictionary is a useful one; the print is clear, and the paper is of excellent quality. The excellence of the first edition is richly enhanced, and this reviewer is confident that the present edition will be useful to students, medical practitioners, writers, and secretaries. Furthermore, it is the most recent dictionary, and its large number of words, illustrations, and tables will appeal to those who may wish to purchase a medical dictionary for the first time or those who may wish the latest edition of a medical dictionary.