Although written primarily as a home reference guide, Barron’s Dictionary of Medical Terms has been valued, used, and highly praised by medical instructors, student nurses, and others in the healthcare professions. This expanded and updated edition clearly and concisely describes medical terms in language that the layman can understand. Thousands of terms and definitions cover— Descriptions of diseases and their symptoms First-aid procedures Human anatomy and body parts Dentistry Medications and their applications Instructive tables covering important elements, vitamins, trade and generic names of commonly prescribed drugs, and much more Many terms are supplemented with instructive line illustrations. Readers are also guided by extensive cross references.

In response to a request by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the Institute of Medicine proposed a study to examine definitions of serious or complex medical conditions and related issues. A seven-member committee was appointed to address these issues. Throughout the course of this study, the committee has been aware of the fact that the topic addressed by this report concerns one of the most critical issues confronting HCFA, health care plans and providers, and patients today. The Medicare+Choice regulations focus on the most vulnerable populations in need of medical care and other services-those with serious or complex medical conditions. Caring for these highly vulnerable populations poses a number of challenges. The committee believes, however, that the current state of clinical and research literature does not adequately address all of the challenges and issues relevant to the identification and care of these patients.

A concise guide to the essential language of medicine. More than 35,000 entries. Pronunciations provided for all entries. Covers brand names and generic equivalents of common drugs.

This book tells the intriguing and often colorful stories of the medical words we use. The origins of clinical and scientific terms can be found in Greek and Latin myths, in places such as jungles of Uganda and the islands of the Aegean Sea, in the names of medicine’s giants such as Hippocrates and Osler, and in some truly unlikely sources. In this book you will learn the answers to questions such as: • What disease was named for an American space flight? • Do you know the echoic word for elephantine rumbling of the bowels? • What drug name was determined by drawing chemists’ notes out of a hat? • What are surfer’s eye, clam digger’s itch, and hide porter’s disease? This book can give you new insights into the terms we use every day in the clinic, hospital, and laboratory. Knowing a word’s history assists in understanding not only what it means, but also some of the connotative subtleties of terms used in diagnosis and treatment. The Amazing Language of Medicine is intended for the enrichment of physicians, other health professionals, students, and anyone involved in clinical care and medical science.

Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. According to Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients. It is likely that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences. Diagnostic errors may cause harm to patients by preventing or delaying appropriate treatment, providing unnecessary or harmful treatment, or resulting in psychological or financial repercussions. The committee concluded that improving the diagnostic process is not only possible, but also represents a moral, professional, and public health imperative. Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, a continuation of the landmark Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), finds that diagnosis-and, in particular, the occurrence of diagnostic errorsâ€"has been largely unappreciated in efforts to improve the quality and safety of health care. Without a dedicated focus on improving diagnosis, diagnostic errors will likely worsen as the delivery of health care and the diagnostic process continue to increase in complexity. Just as the diagnostic process is a collaborative activity, improving diagnosis will require collaboration and a widespread commitment to change among health care professionals, health care organizations, patients and their families, researchers, and policy makers. The recommendations of Improving Diagnosis in Health Care contribute to the growing momentum for change in this crucial area of health care quality and safety.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION The need for a thorough understanding of medical terminology has not diminished in the least for pharmacists and other health care practitioners in the five years between the publication of the first edition of this book and this second edition. If anything, it has become greater. The pharmacy profession has further solidified its clinical role in patient care, and pharmacists are more entrenched than ever before in the role of counselor and advisor to both patients and practitioners alike. For more than a few pharmacists, what not long ago was an occasional question from a physician about appropriate drug therapy has become regular consultation concerning the interaction of drugs with the patient, his life, and the many other therapies he may be facing. Pharmacy chains, which not long ago installed glass walls to separate the pharmacist from customers, have asked technicians to count pills while pharmacists are in continuous contact with the patient. Such practice changes have increased the demand for clinical knowledge among pharmacists, including a knowledge of medical terminology, and those demands have been passed on to the authors in preparation of the second edition of this book. While the role of the text is still to help pharmacists be more effective interpreters and counselors, some changes have been made in response to reader requests.

Dr. William S. Haubrich's curiosity knows no bounds, nor does that of his readers. The overwhelming demand for more histories of yet more words is satisfied in the eagerly awaited second edition of Medical Meanings: A Glossary of Word Origins. Here the reader will find not just etymology and explanations of medical terminology but lessons in history and popular culture. They will learn what really ailed John Merrick, a.k.a., the Elephant Man; what odd deformity plagued the House of Hapsburg, rulers of Spain from 1493 to 1780; and what the connection is between fetal alcohol syndrome and Little Orphan Annie. Charming, witty, and a rollicking learning experience, the second edition of Medical Meanings is fully updated and revised to include over thirty percent more of the definitions, histories, and amusing anecdotes readers of the first edition so treasured.