Development and perspectives of Slovenian medical terminology and lexicography - the historical role of Zdravniški vestnik

Abstract

Background: The aim of the article was to review the development of Slovenian medical terminology and lexicography. Methods: Study of historical and terminological sources, with special emphasis on the 20th century. Results: Parallelly with the beginnings of national emancipation of the Slovenian nation, Slovenian medical language was collected from popular sources and the formation of Slovenian medical terms started in the 19th century. In the 20th century a majority of the Slovenian nation was integrated in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes with its national University established in 1919, and with cultural autonomy. The Medical Faculty and the Slovenian Medical Journal (Zdravniški vestnik) represented the basis for the development of Slovenian medical terminol- ogy. The first Clinical Dictionary was published in 1941 by the Consortium of the Slovenian Medical Journal. After liberation, the complete Medical Faculty was established and encouraged the publications of new medical textbooks while the Slovenian Medical Journal supported the development of modern Slovenian medical terminology. New editions of Medical dictionaries followed, and, on the break of the 21th century an entirely new Slovenian Medical Dictionary with over 60,000 terms was published (two editions) and has recently become available on the Internet. Conclusions: Slovenian medicine has made important steps in the development of modern Slovenian medical language. The current state of the art enables Slovenian physicians and biomedical professionals to follow the progress of global medicine and to create adequate Slovenian expressions in all medical disciplines.