Overview

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.

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9783319503271

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The text is generously enriched by an eclec-tic array of illustrations, most in color and all with helpful public domain citations. ... It is a treasury of notes and anec-dotes, a companion to study and life in medi-cine. ... This book offers curious readers a resource for work-work balance by enriching their professional lives and deepen-ing their sense of history, discovery and mean-ing. (William R. Phillips, Family Medicine, Vol. 54 (4), April, 2018) The Amazing Language of Medicine: Understanding Medical Terms and Their Backstories, is an etymological, philological, and historical work that entertainingly elucidates esoteric origins of selected medical vocabulary without the constraints, bulk, or boredom of traditional medical dictionaries. ... Taylor's Amazing Language of Medicine, might be just the right medicine to refresh and rejuvenate one's workaday practice while expanding one's understanding of medical history in a significant way. (Ira Rezak, The Pharos, 2017)

The Amazing Language of Medicine: Understanding Medical Terms and Their Backstories, is an etymological, philological, and historical work that entertainingly elucidates esoteric origins of selected medical vocabulary without the constraints, bulk, or boredom of traditional medical dictionaries. ... Taylor's Amazing Language of Medicine, might be just the right medicine to refresh and rejuvenate one's workaday practice while expanding one's understanding of medical history in a significant way. (Ira Rezak, The Pharos, 2017)

Author Information

Robert B. Taylor, MD, Emeritus Professor, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine in Portland, Oregon, and Professor, Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Taylor is the author and editor of more than 35 medical books.  Robert B. Taylor, MD Professor Emeritus Department of Family Medicine Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine Portland, Oregon, USA And Professor  Department of Family and Community Medicine Eastern Virginia Medical School Norfolk, Virginia, USA

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