In the Know
Getting the most out of what we read is sometimes difficult when new, or technical terms are encountered! This section contains references to authoritative websites with practical definitions of words you’ll want to understand as a lay reader. There are, of course, many sources of on the meanings behind technical terms, but these may help get you started.
Medical Terms and background information on diagnoses may be investigated at the site maintained jointly by the U.S. government’s National Library of Medicine, and the National Institutes of Health, an authoritative and up-to-date site for most any medical term or, medical condition’s description:
http://medlineplus.gov/
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mplusdictionary.html
Biochemical Terms, along with health conditions and other medical terms may also be investigated at this publicly accessible site offered by MedicineNet.com:
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/hp.asp
An alternative and oft-used site is found at: http://www.webmd.com/
Additional sites maintained by well-known health-care institutions include:
Mayo Clinic, at: http://www.mayoclinic.com/
Harvard Medical School, at: http://www.health.harvard.edu/
Food Technology language you might find unfamiliar can be researched at this address, a source used by members of the food processing industry: