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.