Bioethicist's Dictionary

A broad conception of bioethics shapes this reference work, which defines 755 terms. Its entries reach into clinical and allied fields such as medicine, nursing, behavioral health, forensic science, research ethics, public safety, social work and epidemiology. They also cover the disciplines that inform the field, including bioethics itself, ethics, law, history, philosophy and theology. Named approaches such as Principlism, ethical concepts such as Fallibilism, and major theoretical orientations such as Feminist Bioethics all have their own entries.

Terminology from outside the United States, particularly Britain, appears throughout. Many entries trace their roots to Greek, and a few to Latin. The word for cloning, for instance, comes from a Greek term meaning twig or branch. Cross-references link entries to one another wherever relevant.

The second part contains 95 historical profiles, each a single introductory paragraph. Its subjects include physicians, nurses, dentists and pharmacists, along with philosophers, scientists, environmentalists, public health pioneers, and psychologists and psychiatrists, among many others. Important Christian thinkers are included, as are nine well-known clinicians from the Islamic Golden Age.

The work is intended for anyone interested in bioethics who wants access to its key terms and the historical figures associated with them.