Product Description

Medicine is ever changing, and its terminology evolves constantly. If you're involved in health care in any way, you need to know the latest medical terms and what they mean. That's why you need Dorland's! The world's most trusted source on the language of medicine for over 100 years, it delivers more entries and better definitions than any other medical dictionary - so you can master more of the current terminology that you need to know. A wealth of illustrations and a remarkably user-friendly format make reference a snap. Plus, bonus software on CD-ROM lets you load key terms and definitions onto your PDA ... spell medical terms correctly using spell-checker software ... and listen to audio pronunciations for 35,000 terms. And, free access to www.dorlands.com lets you consult the dictionary online anytime, anywhere. Turn to Dorland's ... you'll be amazed at how much vital information you can glean with so much ease!

• Find any medical term you need to know! Over 120,000 entries - more than any other medical dictionary provides - include the latest drugs as well as extensive coverage of complimentary and alternative medicine.
  
• Know exactly what each term means with definitions that are the richest, most accurate available.
  
• Understand concepts visually by viewing more than 1500 extremely helpful illustrations, many in full color.
  
• Find answers faster thanks to the most user-friendly format of any medical dictionary.
  
• Take your word power even farther with the bonus CD-ROM! You can load the most essential medical terms and definitions onto your PDA ... spell medical terms correctly by installing the medical spell-checker software onto your computer ... and hear how words are pronounced by listening to audio recordings for over 35,000 terms.
  
• Look up any medical term online, anywhere you go, by visiting www.dorlands.com ... grow your vocabulary with the Dorland's Word of the Day ... and much more!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15876 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 2208 pages

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
Completely overhauled for this new edition, this is a top-notch medical dictionary; coloured illustrations, photographs and tables are all used selectively to highlight points and facilitate understanding. The dictionary comes with a CD-ROM allowing you to install an e-book version on your PDA and a spell-checker on your PC. Both the e-book and spell-checker are easy to install and use, although both require web-access from your PC for installation.


The PDA version is a shortened version of the paper-based dictionary. The apparent lack of diagrams on the PDA version is a bit of a shame. In terms of searching for a word or abbreviation there is the usual index. The index is complemented with a search facility; this greatly speeds-up the ability to look-up words. As per the paper version there are also links between related definitions - flicking to and through these different links is easier on the PDA.


The spell-checker slots neatly into Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office - it contains all the words in the dictionary, and works well in Word XP. The installation even includes a test document to determine whether the installation was successful - a nice thoughtful touch.


Amazon reviewer - Medical Student

The most noticeable change since the 30th edition has been an additional 500 new colour illustrations and 5000 new entries making Dorland's entry count of over 124,000 the largest in any single volume medical dictionary. A unique code gives the reader access to the web based version, which can be used to load essential medical terms and definitions, install a medical spellchecker onto your PC, listen to the correct pronunciation of over 35,000 terms and increase your vocabulary. Doctors, nurses and medical secretaries at our surgery would all find this book helpful but I can foresee arguments over whose room it goes in!

Dr. Sager, Unividas, Jan 2009

From the Publisher
The aim of the author of this work has been to produce, in a volume of convenient size, an up-to-date Medical Dictionary, sufficiently full for the various requirements of all.... The book does not claim to be an encyclopedia; it is a dictionary, a concise and convenient word-book, aiming to furnish full definitions of the terms of medicine and kindred branches.... The author has sought a middle course between the large, unwieldy lexicon and the abridged students' dictionary, avoiding the disadvantages of each.

Customer Reviews

Dorland's: a big disappointment
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.

The best medical dictionary.
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.

The 30th edition of Dorland's is a real delight.
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!)