We were taught Disc - eyes, Disk - back

• Disk or disc - LG
  • Disk it is thanks - LG
  • We were taught Disc - eyes, Disk - back - depends on the account, company etc.
    • i was taught opposite, lol, but then at another company they preferred all disc; wide varieties. n - MT
      • isnt that funny? Even with industry standards, there are so many - differences in preference! n/m
  • Regardless of BOS....(sm) - Picky
  • disk - see msg
    • disk versus disc - mystical

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I don't know who wrote this, but I found it online long ago.  Since I was told I was spelling "disc" wrong by other MTs (never by a doctor), I decided to research this matter and found this at http://www.stedmans.com/MTFeaturePrint.cfm/1324.

disc vs disk

 a 4-letter word

To what extent should one research the spelling of a word when there is more than one way to spell it? I suppose the answer would depend on a number of things, not the least of which is how much time one has to invest in word research. Productivity and therefore one’s pay suffers when ears, hands, and feet leave their transcription mode for any period of time.

If the word in question is a mere 4-letter word, it seems reasonable to believe that any one of respected resources would provide an appropriate spelling, so why bother with much research. Let’s face it, four-letter-word vocabularies are usually subject to more creative spellings than misspellings. However, because I was working on a special project, I decided to put to rest, once and for all time, the correct spelling of disc/disk as used in surgical dictation for a lumbar discectomy/diskectomy. Four hours and several resources later, I was sure I had my answer.

Au contraire.

I began my search in Stedman’s Medical 27^th Edition. It is after all my medical dictionary of choice. Clearly the preference for disc/disk when referring to the spine is “disc.” I disagreed. My preferred spelling was “disk” for all things spinal, so I checked the AMA Manual Style. To my delight, they agreed with me. In fact, it clearly states that one should use “disc” for ophthalmologic terms and “disk” for the remainder of the anatomy.

Dr. Dirckx, noted medical language expert, explained disc/disk it in an article that appears in the January 2002 issue of JAAMT. His article begins, “As you have no doubt discovered, reference works show a striking lack of consistency in the spelling of this term.” Amen to that!

I almost always use Vera Pyle’s book for confirmation, she being the all-time guru and grande dame of medical vocabulary. I couldn’t believe my eyes. She directs that one use “disk” when transcribing ophthalmologic dictation and “disc” for the remainder of the anatomy.

All right, the gloves came off. Next stop, the revered AAMT Book of Style. “We recommend the spelling disk for all anatomic and surgical references …” I was satisfied and feeling pretty smug, so I declared the victory to a member of Stedman’s staff and suggested that the Stedman’s Dictionary team look into changing “disc” preference to “disk” in their new edition.

It is a good feeling to be right, and I was feeling real good. That is, until the S27 research team took my suggestion and consulted the world experts in medical terminology. Who are they? “They” are the Federative International Committee on Anatomical Terminology, and “they” are the final word. Chairman Ian Whitmore states that Latin is the basis for the world's official terminology as found in Terminologia Anatomica (TA). Want to know more about TA? It is explained in S27 and makes interesting reading.

And just what do the world experts say about disk/disc? Disc is in for all things medical; disk is out. Why? Because Latin terms have official status and, though the origin of the word is from the Greek term “diskos, the Latin derivation is “discus.”

So, my fellow word junkies, if you have always used “disk” as your preferred spelling in all things anatomical, today is the day to change because “disc” is correct in the eyes of the world.

NM

Thanks

Not sure what folder I can find them on my computer.

Even if you hated the person and hated their ideas we were taught we needed to share and play nice.  Well here on boards and in chat rooms, you don't have to play nice and we can vent and rant and not have to suck it in. 

I believe it is healthier here on these boards than in real life where you need to smile in people's faces in the workplace, in the neighborhood or even in the family when you would rather tell them what you think at best and at the very worse give them a good old fashion A$$ kick and tell them to get out of your face with their BS..

Here you don't need to be phoney baloney and you can tell people exactly how you feel w/o repercussions.  And that's a good thing.