Expanded third edition of Slovene Medical Dictionary published

In his following address, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Dr. Dušan Šuput, M.D. stated that the dictionary was a major improvement for medical students, as it allows them to broaden their professional vocabulary in their native language.

The dictionary will be of assistance to doctors and pharmacists in their daily work with patients and also for their interpersonal communication. The instructions are well written, and the pronunciation and use guides will also be welcome to students and all professionals who write professional or lay papers or make public appearances.

In comparison with the first edition in book form in 2002, which took 23 years to prepare, involved the participation of 98 people, and included 60,700 entries and cross-references, the third edition was the work of 62 contributors (writers, editors, language consultants and computer specialists), and contains 67,319 entries and cross-references (an increase of around 11% over the first edition). The third edition took 5 years to complete. “The reason for the shorter preparation time was the consistent application of computer technology: the writers issued their contributions in digital form, the editors edited them and harmonized them with the old materials directly on computer, and communication between the writers, editors and language consultants was conducted via email. The result was increased work efficiency,” explained Editor-in-Chief Prof. Miroslav Kališnik.

The first edition was very well received by the professional community. In 2003 Lek in cooperation with the Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana issued the second, electronic edition, on CD and in an on-line version. It was distributed free of charge to doctors, pharmacists and students. The dictionary’s editorial board at the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine are also planning a further publication, in electronic form at the beginning of 2008. It has invited several younger contributors to participate, including some from the Faculty of Medicine in Maribor. The fundamental intention is to preserve and encourage the tradition of biomedical terminology in Slovenia.

“Scientific work and research and development have been the core of the work of Lek Pharmaceuticals for over 60 years. In addition to employing numerous professionals in various fields and developing new knowledge together with them, each year we also support the training of healthcare and pharmaceutical workers and thus continue our unswerving partnership with the healthcare community and with Slovene society. This is a part of our mission – to offer effective, safe, affordable high-quality drugs and to provide for health and a better quality of life in the broadest sense of the terms,” said Aleš Süssinger, Head of Marketing and Sales Slovenia at Lek, at the presentation.