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Book Review
Dictionary of Parasitology
Peter J. Gosling
CRC Press, 2005
ISBN: 0415308550
Pages: 394; Price: US $129.95
Suggested
citation for this article
The authors' intent in writing this dictionary is to provide a concise,
clear, up-to-date, accurate use of terms to be used when communicating
scientific information in the field of parasitology. This exhaustive text,
with more than 11,500 entries, is at first read simply an alphabetized
collection of names of organisms and terms associated with the science
of parasitology. Upon closer reading, however, one spends more and more
time going page by page either refreshing forgotten terminology, or learning
new meaning for a particular term or disease. For the student of words,
both newcomers to the field or seasoned hands, this book will provide
useful information. Some concerns exist, such as continued use of outdated
names, e.g., Dipetalonema for a number of filarial infections that
have been correctly placed in the genus Mansonella for >20 years.
There are also some gaps, such as the absence of an important genus of
microsporidia, Enterocytozoon, but overall, readers will be able
to find definitions for common and eclectic terms. The dictionary covers
a wider range of terms than parasitology; some virology terms, such as
Aino virus, are included, as are some far afield terms, including hundredweight,
hydrogen half-cell, and zwitterions. These additions add to the level
of interest as the reader leafs from page to page looking for familiar
friends and making new acquaintances. Zwitterions, in case you have forgotten,
are ions that carry both a positive and negative charge.
Mark Eberhard*
*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Suggested citation
for this article:
Gosling PJ. Dictionary
of parasitology [book review]. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet].
2006 Feb [date cited]. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no02/05-1244.htm
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