Thirty-eight professors from the School of Medicine of the University of Navarra have collaborated in the essay of the new Dictionary of Medicine published by publishing house Espasa. At the presentation of the Issue, which has 18,000 entries and sub-entries, Antonio Pardo, secretary of committee publishing house and professor of the School of Medicine, pointed out that this work brings two singular novelties: "It is the first dictionary written by specialists in Spanish language , that is, it is not a translation although all the terms include their equivalent in English. In addition, it contains questions of medical ethics, essential in our opinion in contemporary medicine and which do not appear in other works".

The partnership between specialists of the School of Medicine and the Clínica Universitaria de Navarra has made it possible to cover all areas of health sciences: allergology, cardiology, dermatology, gynecology, nephrology,.... up to a total of 38 different medical specialties. "Coordination has been very important. After a year of essay of the terms, it has taken several months of work among us and with the publishing house to link terms connected to each other, avoid redundancies, etc.".

Another novelty is the approach that the authors have sought to establish with the general public: "It is not a dictionary aimed exclusively at medical professionals and students," continued Professor Pardo. Through simple language we want any reader to be able to understand his or her own medical report , since because of the technicalities, doctors do not always explain the disease well to patients". Several non-medical people have reviewed the Issue prior to publication to ensure that the terms are understood. The dictionary also includes 300 explanatory photographs or drawings.

reference letter As regards the content, the specialist from the University of Navarra highlighted the inclusion of terms from the world of bioethics: "Today's medicine cannot ignore this specialization program, which is why we include terms such as 'informed consent', 'patient autonomy',... always bearing in mind the informative vocation of this work". The most innovative specialties -such as biotechnology, molecular biology or physical medicine- are also present.

For his part, the Dean of the School of Medicine, Professor Pedro Gil, pointed out that "this dictionary reflects the training that we want for the doctors of the new millennium. We want professionals who know and respect the dignity of the patient and, at the same time, master the most innovative techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases".

He also emphasized that "Spanish society is increasingly demanding scientific knowledge. For this reason, the authors have focused especially on the most commonly used terms. It is not intended to be a specialized encyclopedia. Nevertheless, each copy has 1,274 pages.

Finally, the Dean of Medicine of the University of Navarra has announced that several professors of the School will launch in the future an informative collection of medical topics to approach the general public.