In memory of Peter Nelson Campbell (1921–2005)
Peter Campbell was the first person to synthesize a protein using components of the cell rather than complete
cells. He was one of the group who first showed the importance of autoimmunity in human disease. Peter was
Head of the Biochemistry Department in the University of Leeds from 1967 until 1975. He was a founder of
the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) and, among many international commitments,
chaired the Education Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUB). A
great advocate of biochemistry teaching, he started the journal Biochemical Education. His books included
Biochemistry Illustrated, with Tony Smith. He was also one of the main driving forces behind the creation of
the first edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Preface
Preface to this edition
It is a decade since the first edition of the Oxford Dictionary of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. It was a remarkable work
of scholarship, arising from the work of journal editors and
scientific writers. Since then the landscape of biochemistry has
changed immeasurably. The genome sequences have laid out
the blueprints of whole organisms, especially Man. They have
revealed the diversity of gene expression, and the complex
systems by which cellular molecules organize themselves. The
molecular basis of many diseases has been revealed, and vital
cellular components discovered.
The literature is more diverse than ten years ago. The
identification of the genes has rushed ahead of the biochemical
characterization of their functions. Many protein and nucleic
acid factors have been discovered. While their functions are
incompletely understood, they are referred to by laboratory
shorthand abbreviations. These are well understood by the
investigators who work on them, but the mass of them becomes
very confusing to the student, or to those viewing biochemistry
from the outside. New methods of bioinformatics have been
developed to bridge the gap. Meanwhile the ‘-omics’ projects
have introduced new layers of complexity as we see the
interactions between macromolecules leading to new emergent
properties.
As predicted in the first edition, the influence of the Internet
has expanded. Instead of searching for information in libraries,
students now usually go first to a search engine. So, does such a
dictionary have a role in the age of Google? In fact it has gained
in sales and popularity. Evidently it fills a need for a source of
reliable information that is not always so easy to find.
A revised version of the dictionary, with some additions and
corrections was printed in 2000. At that time, the need for a
complete revision was apparent. The work continued with a
new team, recruited by the ever-enthusiastic Peter Campbell.
We deeply regret that he did not live to see the completion of
this task, having died on February 8th 2005 from
complications after an accident.
In order to keep the dictionary as a handy reference volume,
we have endeavoured to avoid it becoming much heavier. It is
only by being selective that there are only about 20% more
entries than the first edition. Most of the appendices have been
removed, or their useful parts transferred. The listed Nobel
prizewinners in biochemistry and molecular biology have been
omitted except for eponymous entries, when they have lent
their names to compounds or procedures. There has been a
judicious removal of some older terms, though we found that
surprisingly few have disappeared from the literature to such
an extent that they are obsolete.
The literature abounds with laboratory shorthand names,
database identifiers; TLA's (three-letter abbreviations) and
other acronyms are extremely common, and a notorious source
of ambiguity. We have cited these selectively, sometimes to
indicate that a word or phrase has two meanings in different
contexts. In the printed form we can show the full range of
printed characters – boldface, italic, sub- and superscripts,
Greek letters – that make up the syntax of many of the names,
and that are difficult to find with search engines.
The dictionary is not intended to be a nomenclature
document, and the terms that are in the entries are generally
those that are in common use. We continue the practice of
pointing the reader in the direction of recommended
terminology and nomenclature. Nomenclature rules are
applied less prescriptively these days; ‘recommended’ chemical
nomenclature has become ‘preferred’; ‘recommended names’
for enzymes have given way to ‘common names’.
A great many of the new entries, on inherited diseases and
much else besides are provided by Frank Vella, drawing on the
eclectic collection of topical papers that he assembled for his
columns in journals such as IUBMB Life. The entries on
bioinformatics and genetics, which have assumed greater
importance in BMB over the past decade, have been bolstered
by the work of Terri Attwood and John Stirling. Finally it has
been a pleasure to work with John Daintith and Robert Hine of
Market House Books, whose expertise in chemistry and
biology meant that their assembly of the book was an expert
job.
The content of such a dictionary is necessarily selective. We
have tried to ensure that the entries in the dictionary reflect
current usage in biochemistry and molecular biology. As
always, we are grateful to readers who point out errors in the
present text.
Richard Cammack
March 2006
viii
Nearly twenty years ago one of us (S. P. D., soon joined by
G. H. S.), began a distillation of the elements of biochemistry
into an alphabetical arrangement. The task was formidable and
eventually other editors were recruited, an editorial board was
established, and now the work is offered as the Oxford
Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. It is hoped
that the dictionary will serve the needs of the research
biochemist or molecular biologist, as well as teachers of the
subject and their students. In addition, it should prove of value
to practitioners of other fields of study or work seeking the
meaning of a biochemical term.
An important function of a dictionary is to provide guid-
ance on current usage in the field within its scope. The original
12-volume Oxford English Dictionary was compiled from about
five million slips of paper bearing sentences or phrases ex-
tracted by some thousands of ‘readers’ from classical works of
literature and those of the best contemporary authors. It was
thus firmly based on good usage. In scientific subjects, special-
ist terminology is often codified in sets of recommendations re-
garding nomenclature, meaning, abbreviations, symbols, and
so on. These have been agreed by international commissions
(e.g. those of The International Union of Pure and Applied
Chemistry and The International Union of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology) as a means of preserving order and facili-
tating communication between scientists. We have striven to
conform as far as possible to the relevant international recom-
mendations, but in some cases, where usage so frequently di-
verges from a recommendation that adherence to it would seri-
ously detract from ease of use of the dictionary, we have kept to
the principle that the dictionary should reflect usage (see the
definitions of lexicographer). This does not extend, of course,
to cases where usage, however widespread, contradicts sound
scientific principles. The internationally agreed recommenda-
tion is always also listed. The various compilations of these rec-
ommendations that have been drawn upon are listed in Appen-
dix B, together with a number of other sources of information
on nomenclature.
Biochemistry is the discipline that embraces the study of the
structure and function of life-forms at the molecular level. Mo-
lecular biology is a closely related discipline that originates in
the study of DNA and its metabolism, and now embraces all
those investigations that exploit the technology that has re-
sulted from this work. Both disciplines aim to explain the be-
haviour of life-forms in molecular terms, and are so closely in-
terrelated that separation is barely possible. It is inevitable that
the content of this dictionary is to a degree arbitrary, but it is
hoped that all important aspects of these subjects have received
consideration. The compilers have attempted to offer a broad
coverage of terms encountered in the literature of biochemistry
and molecular biology by including an appreciable number
from cognate sciences. Although the compilation is designed
primarily to serve readers of contemporary material, the needs
of those who turn to older literature have also been borne in
mind. Some of the entries thus have a historical flavour, some
obsolete terms are included (e.g. zymase), and in some cases a
historical approach has been used as the best means of present-
ing an explanation of a term, as for example in the case of the
entry for gene. The value of a scientific dictionary is enhanced
by inclusion of contextual information as well as mere explana-
tions of meaning or terminology. This dictionary will be found
to have some of the attributes of an encyclopedia, although the
extent to which it veers in this direction has varied with the
whim of its compilers. It is our hope that in a single volume the
reader has easy access to basic definitions as well as a generous
helping of other information.
In the present-day world, we are assailed by floods of
‘information’. It has been suggested that the average weekday
edition of a newspaper of record (e.g. The New York Times)
provides more information than Shakespeare and his contem-
poraries would have acquired in a lifetime. With the availabil-
ity of much information through the Internet, it may be asked
whether a dictionary in paper form is actually necessary. In an-
swer, we note that the Internet can be slow, and is not readily
accessible in some parts of the world; the databases may be in-
adequate, and although usually very up-to-date, the high cost
of their maintenance restricts them to specialized knowledge in
a limited number of fields. Moreover, books have a quality of
their own, which is enabling them to maintain their popularity.
It appears that the increasing use of the Internet is actually par-
alleled by the rate of publication of printed dictionaries; in an
information-hungry age, there cannot be too many sources of
good-quality information.
We are deeply indebted to the Leverhulme Trust for the
award of an emeritus fellowship to one of us (A. D. S.), to Uni-
versity College London, which has provided us with friends
and expert colleagues, and to Dr O. Theodor Benfey, Dr Mary
Ellen Bowden, and Professor Arnold Thackray, The Beckman
Center for History of Chemistry, Chemical Heritage Founda-
tion, Philadelphia, and Dr John Edsall, Harvard University for
assistance with biographical data.
Particular thanks are due to Dr H. B. F. Dixon for much ad-
vice on nomenclature and related matters. Help on questions of
Preface to the first edition
Preface to the revised first edition
It must be inevitable with any work of this nature that a
number of imperfections and errors occur. So the opportunity
provided by the need to reprint this dictionary has been taken
to effect some improvements within the limitation imposed by
retention of the original pagination. As well as the correction of
a variety of minor misprints and other minor defects, over four
hundred entries been either revised or completely rewritten,
and fifty or so new entries have been provided, some to remedy
deficiencies and others to provide additional terms that have
become of topical interest. To help make way for the new ones,
about half as many original entries have been deleted. In
addition, Appendices B, C, and D have been
updated, and Appendix B has been expanded and provided
with all the relevant Internet addresses available at the time of
writing.
Valuable comments on the original edition by a number of
readers are gratefully acknowledged, and thanks are again due
to Dr. H. B. F. Dixon for advice on aspects of nomenclature as
well as to Oxford University Press and Market House Books
for their much appreciated cooperation.
September 1999 A. D. S.
ix
Note on proprietary status
This dictionary includes some words which are, or are asserted to be, proprietary names or trade marks. Their inclusion
does not imply that they have acquired for legal purposes a non-proprietary or general significance, nor is any other
judgement implied concerning their legal status. In cases where the editor has some evidence that a word is used as a
proprietary name or trade mark this is indicated by the designation proprietary name, but no judgement concerning the
legal status of such words is made or implied thereby.
nomenclature from Dr G. P. Moss and Dr A. D. McNaught is
also acknowledged. We are grateful to Dr D. H. Jenkinson for
his help with the recommendations of the International Com-
mittee on Nomenclature in Pharmacology. We are also grateful
for the valuable advice of Professor K. W. Taylor and Dr J. L.
Crammer, on clinical topics, and Professor M. C. W. Evans, on
plant biochemistry, and to Dr Margaret McKenzie, for reading
the proofs.
During the earlier stages of the project, Mrs S. Gove gave
much valuable assistance and Miss A. Straker was most helpful
in suggesting terms for inclusion. We also wish to thank all
those other friends and colleagues, in addition to those sep-
arately listed, who have unstintingly given us help and advice.
We are pleased to acknowledge the collaboration and
material support given to us by Oxford University Press. We
also acknowledge the very friendly cooperation of Market
House Books, especially the patience and good humour of
Dr John Daintith through all the complications of the produc-
tion. The copy editors, Robert Hine and Jane Cavell, made a
number of helpful suggestions.
The compilers offer no apology for their failure to include
many deserving terms in the dictionary, but would be pleased
to have their attention drawn to errors and to receive sugges-
tions for additional entries in any future edition.
January 1997
A. D. Smith, S. P. Datta, G. H. Smith, P. N. Campbell, R.
Bentley, H. A. McKenzie
This whole book is but a draught—nay, but the draught of
a draught. Oh, Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience.
Herman Melville (1851) Moby Dick, or The Whale
(ed. T. Tanner, 1988, p. 147, Oxford University Press).
1. Alphabetical order
1.1 Main order of headwords
Alphabetical order is determined on a letter-by-letter basis, not
word by word; spaces are disregarded:
acid
acid anhydride
acid–base balance
acid–base catalysis
acid dissociation constant
acid dye
acidemia
1.2 Nonalphabetic characters
Numbers, hyphens, primes, and subscript/superscript text are
ignored for the purpose of indexing; an example is the
following sequence of entries:
FSH-RH
F1 sphere
F
′′
strain
F-type pentose phosphate pathway
ftz
1.3 Locants and modifiers
In chemical names, any locants and other hyphenated
modifiers such as cis-, trans-, p-, and alphabetic Greek
characters are not used to determine primary alphabetical
order; hence the following entries all appear under the letter A:
N
-acetylgalactosamine
p
-aminobenzoic acid
c-aminobutyrate shunt
6-aminohexanoic acid
However, the unhyphenated letters ‘c’ in ‘cDNA’ and ‘d’ in
‘dCTP’, for example, are treated as integral parts of the word and
are used to determine alphabetical order.
1.4 Secondary order involving locants
When such modifiers constitute the only difference between
two headwords, they determine the alphabetical order of the
entries:
benzodiazepine encephalitis
o
-benzoquinone 3′-end
p
-benzoquinone 5′-end
benzoyl end+
1.5 Format differences in headwords
The order for entries where the headword is identical except for
format is
b,
b
, b-,
b
-, -b, -
b
, B,
B
, B-,
B
-, -B, -
B
1.6 Subscripts and superscripts
Single letters with subscripts or superscripts are treated as
single letters for the purposes of indexing, so entries for
k
cat
and
K
m
will both be found in the list of single-letter entries
at the beginning of the letter K. The primary order of these
single-letter entries is determined by their format (see section
1.5); where there is more than one entry with a given format
(e.g. italic, lower case
k
), these are arranged by alphabetical
order of their subscripts/superscripts.
1.7 Greek letters
• Where Greek letters form part of a chemical name, they are
not used to determine alphabetical order (see section 1.3).
Otherwise they are written out in full in the headword, e.g.
nu body, beta strand.
• The names of the letters of the Greek alphabet, together
with their English transliterations used in etymologies, are
listed in Appendix A. The meanings assigned to Greek
alphabetic characters used as symbols are also given in
Appendix A.
• Greek characters are set in italic type when the character
represents a variable or locant and in roman type when it
represents a unit or subtype e.g. of a protein or particle.
Guide to the Dictionary
2. Format of entries
2.1 Summary of typefaces
• The following distinguishing typefaces are employed
in addition to the text light serif typeface used for definitions:
large bold sans serif headwords
text bold serif alternative terms for and variant
spellings of headwords; hidden
entries; run-ons
text bold sans serif cross-references
text italic serif usage notes and field labels;
parts of speech; foreign language
terms (including scientific and
medical Latin); symbols for
physical quantities and funda-
mental physical constants; ster-
eochemical prefixes and alpha-
betical locants
2.2 Headwords
• For each entry, the headword is in bold, sans serif type.
• Upper-case (capital) initial letters are used only for proper
names (or terms derived from them) and for proprietary
names. Abbreviations and symbols are printed in upper
and/or lower case as appropriate.
• If a term would normally be set in bold type, this is
indicated in the entry:
B
symbol for 1 Napierian absorbance (see absorbance).
2 magnetic flux density (bold italic).
• Where the same basic term is used in different typefaces,
such as roman/italic, or upper case/lower case, or as a prefix
or suffix, each usage is given as a separate headword. For
example,
h,
h
, H, and
H
each have a separate entry.
• The order in which such entries are given is listed in section
1.5.
2.3 Alternative terms and variant spellings
2.3.1 Choice of headword
Where alternative terms for a headword, or variant spellings of
it, exist (see section 1.3), the headword selected for the main
entry is generally the recommended or preferred term, or the
one judged to be the commonest. Exceptions to this
generalization are those instances where the name of a Greek
alphabetic character is written out for convenience of indexing:
beta globulin or b globulin
2.3.2 General
• Any alternative terms and alternative spellings are listed
following the headword in bold, serif type:
retrovirus or ribodeoxyvirus or RNA–DNA virus any
virus belonging to the family Retroviridae
• Notes regarding the usage of these alternatives may be given
in brackets and in italics; for example
DNA glycosylase or (sometimes) DNA glycosidase any
of a group of enzymes
bacteremia or (esp. Brit.) bacteraemia the presence of
live bacteria in the blood.
bilirubin or (formerly) bilirubin IXa the recommended
trivial name for the linear tetrapyrrole
• These alternative terms and spellings also appear as entries
in the alphabetical sequence, with a cross-reference to the
main entry where the term is defined, unless the variant
would appear close to the main entry. Additional
information is given where appropriate:
demoxytocin an alternative name for deaminooxytocin.
fructose-1,6-diphosphatase a former name for fructose-
bisphosphatase.
lipide a variant spelling of lipid.
molecular exclusion chromatography a less common
name for gel-permeation chromatography.
oleomargarine an alternative name (esp. US) for mar-
garine.
penatin an obsolete name for glucose oxidase.
2.3.3 Chemical names
• Synonyms may be given following the headword, in the
order: other trivial names (if any); the semi-systematic or
semi-trivial name(s); older systematic name in style, if still in
widespread use; the systematic name in currently
recommended style.
• The headword used to represent a chemical compound that
can exist in ionized form(s) is in most cases the name of its
physiologically predominant form. So, for example, an
entry is headed ‘succinate’ rather that ‘succinic acid’
.
2.3.4 Enzyme names
Alternative names may be listed following the headword,
which is normally the recommended name; otherwise
alternative names include the recommended name (if the
headword is the common name), the systematic name, and
other names. The EC number is also given.
2.4 Multiple definitions
• Where a term has more than one meaning, the different
senses are numbered with bold Arabic numerals.
blockade 1 (in pharmacology) the saturation of a spe-
cific type of receptor with an antagonist to its normal
agonist. 2 (in immunology) the overloading or satura-
tion of the
reticuloendothelial system with inert particles,
such as carbon particles. 3 to impose any such block-
ade.
• The order of the numbered entries is generally determined
by their biochemical significance.
• The different senses may be further subdivided into def. 1a,
def. 1b, etc.
ddii++
comb. form 1 (in chemical nomenclature) (distinguish
from bis+ (def. 2)) a indicating the presence in a mol-
ecule of two identical unsubstituted groups, e.g. diethyl-
sulfide, 1,3-dihydroxyacetone. b indicating the pres-
ence in a molecule of two identical inorganic oxoacid
residues in anhydride linkage, e.g. adenosine 5′-diphos-
phate. 2 or
bis+ (def. 1) denoting two, twofold, twice,
doubled.
Guide to the Dictionary
xii
• Homographs are not distinguished.
2.5 Hidden entries
Hidden entries are terms that are not defined at their normal
headword position. Instead, they are treated (implicitly or
explicitly) at some other headword. They are set in bold serif
type. In the following example, ‘bentonite flocculation test’ is
the hidden entry:
bentonite a colloidal, native hydrated aluminium sili-
cate clay consisting principally of montmorillonite, a
complex aluminosilicate, Al
2
O
3
·4SiO
2
·H
2
O, which has
marked adsorptive properties. It is used as an inhibitor
of nucleases and also in the bentonite flocculation test, a
passive agglutination test in which antigen-coated ben-
tonite particles are used to detect specific antibody.
2.6 Other information
2.6.1 Plurals
The plural form (or forms) of a headword is (are) given in
parenthesis following the headword if its formation is non-
standard, e.g. for Latin headwords, or where there is more than
one form of the plural.
medulla (pl. medullas or medullae) the innermost part of
an organ, tissue, or structure; marrow, pith. —
medullary adj.
2.6.2 Affixes and combining forms
• In common with other dictionaries, this Dictionary lists and
defines many word elements that are used to compose terms
or to modify existing terms. These are either combining
forms (which are derived from parent words) or affixes
(infixes, prefixes, and suffixes, none of which have parents).
• The usual lexicographical convention is to add a hyphen to
suffixes and combining forms when listing them as
headwords, although generally the hyphen is omitted in for-
mation of composite terms. However, chemical and bio-
chemical terminology also includes a considerable number
of specialized affixes that retain the hyphen in the formation
of composite terms (e.g. ‘meso-’ in ‘meso-cystine’).
In order to make an explicit distinction between these
alternatives, this Dictionary departs from the common
convention by adding a hyphen to an affix in a headword
only when a linking hyphen is retained in a combination:
meso
- abbr.: ms-; prefix (in chemical nomenclature) des-
ignating a substance whose individual molecules con-
tain
By contrast, combining forms (e.g., ‘meso’ in ‘mesoderm’)
together with affixes producing unhyphenated composite
terms, are listed with an added plus sign, placed after and/or
before the word-element as appropriate:
meso+ or (sometimes before a vowel) mes+ comb. form
denoting middle, or intermediate.
+agogue or (US) +agog suffix denoting an agent that
elicits or enhances the secretion of
2.6.3 Abbreviations and symbols
• Where a term may be abbreviated or indicated with a
symbol, this is noted after the headword.
nuclear magnetic resonance abbr.: NMR or nmr; the
phenomenon that occurs when atomic nuclei
electric potential or potential symbol: V or
φ
; the work
done in bringing unit electric charge
• The distinction between an abbreviation and a symbol is a
little blurred, since some abbreviations (e.g. lg) also may be
used as symbols. In general, the term ‘symbol’ is used here
for
units and their decimal prefixes (e.g. m, mol; l, M)
physical quantities and constants (e.g. a, H; k, R)
mathematical functions (e.g. exp, ln)
chemical elements (e.g. K, Mg)
groups of letters that can be used in place of a chemical
group or compound in an equation or formula (e.g.
CoA, Me)
recommended abbreviations for nucleotides, bases, or
amino acids.
• The symbols for SI base and derived units and their decimal
prefixes are mandatory; all other symbols are
recommendations of IUBMB or IUPAC. In conformity
with these recommendations, symbols for physical
quantities and fundamental physical constants are printed
in a sloping (italic) typeface.
• No distinction is made between acronyms, contractions,
abbreviations, etc. All are classed as abbreviations.
Abbreviations formed from the initial letters of two or more
words are printed without periods (full-stops), in line with
contemporary practice, but abbreviations that are
shortened forms of single words have a terminal period.
• In addition to recommended abbreviations, the Dictionary
lists a selection of others commonly encountered in the
scientific literature.
2.6.4 Derived terms
Derived terms not meriting separate definition are listed at
the end of the entry for the parent term, preceded by a bold
em dash and followed by an abbreviation indicating the
part of speech.
bactericide or bacteriocide any agent (biological, chemi-
cal, or physical) that destroys bacteria. —bactericidal
or bacteriocidal adj.
2.6.5 Etymology
• Generally, the derivation of words is not explained in
entries. The exceptions are for eponymous terms and other
entries of particular etymological interest.
• The etymology is given within square brackets at the end of
the entry.
ångström or Ångstrom symbol: Å; a unit of length equal
to 10
–10
metres. [After Anders Jonas Ångström
(1814–74), Swedish physicist noted for his work on
spectroscopy.]
• Greek elements of etymologies are transliterated:
chirality topological handedness; the property of non-
identity of an object with its mirror image. [From
Greek kheir, hand.]
2.6.6 Usage
• The field within which the term is used may be specified in
xiii
Guide to the Dictionary
italics and in parenthesis before the definition.
malonyl 1 (in biochemistry) the univalent acyl group,
HOOC–CH
2
–CO–, derived from malonic acid by loss
of one hydroxyl group. 2 (in chemistry) the bivalent
acyl group, –CO–CH
2
–CO–, derived from malonic acid
by loss of both hydroxyl groups.
• Notes may also be given regarding the use of alternative
terms and variant spellings: see section 2.3.2.
2.7 Cross-references
2.7.1 Format
• Cross-references are set in bold sans serif type, e.g. thio-
uridine.
• Where a cross-reference refers to only one sense of a word
with multiple definitions, this is indicated as in the following
example:
siderophage an alternative name for siderophore (def. 1).
2.7.2 Types of cross-reference
• There are cross-references from a variant spelling, or a less
commonly used term, etc., to the entry where the term is
defined. For examples, see section 2.3.2.
• Some cross-references are to related entries giving more
information. These may be either embedded in the text:
octulose any ketose having a chain of eight carbon
atoms in the molecule.
or listed at the end of the entry:
vacuum evaporation a technique for See also shadow
casting.
• Cross-references may also be used to draw attention to
contrasting terms:
heterochromatin Compare euchromatin.
or to pairs of easily confused terms:
prolidase another name for X-Pro dipeptidase. Distinguish
from prolinase.
prolinase the recommended name for Pro-X dipeptidase.
Distinguish from prolidase.
3. Abbreviations
abbr. abbreviation
adj. adjective
adv. adverb
Brit. British
comb. form combining form (see section 2.6.2)
3-D three-dimensional
def. definition
e.g. [Latin, exempli gratia] for example
esp. especially
etc. etcetera
Fr. French
i.e. [Latin, id est] that is
max. maximum
n. noun
pl. plural
sing. singular
sp. or spp. species (singular and plural respectively)
US United States
vb. verb
Other abbreviations are defined in the text itself.
4. Other conventions
4.1 Spelling and hyphenation
4.1.1 Spelling
• For chemical and biochemical terms, recommended
international usage is followed; thus, for example, ‘heme’ is
used rather than ‘haem’, ‘estrogen’ rather than ‘oestrogen’,
‘sulfur’ rather than ‘sulphur’, and ‘oxytocin’ rather than
‘ocytocin’. All variants are listed as headwords, however,
with cross-references to the corresponding main entries.
• For common terms, e.g. ‘colour’, British spelling is used.
4.1.2 Hyphenation
• Hyphens are used attributively:
‘T cell’ but ‘T-cell receptor’
‘amino acid’ but ‘amino-acid residues’
• This also applies to enzyme names; thus for example, there
is no hyphen following the ‘glucose’ in ‘glucose 6-
phosphate’, but where this substrate forms part of an
enzyme name, it is hyphenated, e.g. in ‘glucose-6-
phosphatase’ or ‘glucose-6-phosphate isomerase’.
4.2 Nomenclature
In most cases, headwords conform with the
recommendations of the various nomenclature bodies of
IUB, IUBMB, and IUPAC. The phrase ‘not recommended’
has been used to indicate that certain forms are not the
recommendation of one of these nomenclature bodies.
4.2.1 Drug names
The recommended international nonproprietary names are
used (International nonproprietary names (INN) for
pharmaceutical substances. World Health Organization,
Geneva, 1992); hence, for example, main entries are found
under epinephrine and norepinephrine rather than under
adrenaline and noradrenaline.
4.2.2 Proprietary names
A few commonly used proprietary names are included; these
may be listed at the end of an entry if considered to be of
particular interest, especially to non-scientists:
acetaminophen or paracetamol Proprietary names:
Tylenol, Panadol. It inhibits
or may be the main headword:
Sephadex.
Guide to the Dictionary
xiv
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