To recap: over the past three weeks I have used the metaphor of crossing bridges in discussing translational research in clinical medicine; derived a model of it from definitions in […]
Jeff Aronson’s Words
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Translational research—a further model
In the past two weeks I have used the metaphor of crossing bridges in discussing translational research, and have derived a model of it from definitions in the Cooksey report, […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Translational research—an early model
A clear definition of translational research is hard to come by. Typical general definitions include: • the process of transferring, from bench to bedside, findings in basic science into clinical […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Translational research—early developments
Last week I discussed the nonlinear nature of systematic reviews and suggested that many aspects of medical science are also nonlinear. I believe this to be true of translational medicine. […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Cherry picking and berry picking in systematic reviews
Cherry picking originally meant “the action or practice of harvesting cherries” (Oxford English Dictionary). The term is recorded as having been first used in November 1849, in Godey’s Lady’s Book: […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Wellerisms
We first meet Sam Weller (picture below) in Chapter X of The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, which was published serially between April 1836 and November 1837. “He was […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Gout
Richard Asher once commented, citing Pel Ebstein fever in Hodgkin’s disease as an example, that some clinical manifestations that are regarded as “typical” of certain diseases may be in fact […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Fake illnesses
Fake news is in the news. So what about fake illnesses? When Richard Asher described “a common syndrome, which most doctors have seen, but about which little has been written”, […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Snakes, snarks, and boojums
Last week I discussed the origins of words to do with snakes, such as serpent and sepsis, derived from the IndoEuropean root SERP, meaning to creep or crawl. However, that […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Sepsis and septicaemia
A reader of The BMJ has written to the editor to ask for clarification of the terms “sepsis” and “septicaemia”. The answer could be said to be rather creepy. The […]