Medical and Biological Terminologies

Book excerpt: Annotation "Written in order to help medical students better understand medical & other biological terminology, Scarborough's...thought-provoking chapters on botany, invertebrates, arthropods, & the human skeletal, nervous, muscular, respiratory, digestive, reproductive, endocrine, circulatory, & sensorial systems illustrate the historical development & metaphorical importance of the jargon. The book is also an elegant introduction to the history of ideas in Western scientific thought. [MEDICAL & BIOLOGICAL TERMINOLOGIES is] a highly recommended aid for teachers."--RELIGIOUS STUDIES REVIEW. "Practitioners & students of medicine & allied disciplines as well as general readers with an interest in the history of scientific & technical words will find both instruction & enjoyment in this wisely conceived & adroitly executed work."--JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. "[Scarborough's] command of the technical material & literature is remarkable, & he writes with the clarity & enthusiasm of a fine teacher, not a compiler of scientific ARCANA. Erudition, wit, & entertainment abound."--CLASSICAL WORLD. John Scarborough is a Professor in the School of Pharmacy, Department of Classics & Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin. He is the author of ROMAN MEDICINE, FACETS OF HELLENIC LIFE, & PHARMACY'S ANCIENT HERITAGE: THEOPHRASTUS, NICANDER, & DIOSCORIDES, & the editor of SYMPOSIUM ON BYZANTINE MEDICINE & FOLKLORE & FOLKMEDICINES.