general

I am a first year vet student who hasn't had that much clinical experience. Thus, I am constantly running across terminology and verbage that I am not familiar with. This dictionary is great! I use it constantly. This book has basic medical/vet vocabulary in addition to the veterinary-specific terminology that I need for my classes. It is a great size, too--fits great in the backpack and is not heavy.

Saunder's dictionary is well-organized, and contains most ever term that I have needed to look up the definition is for. However, it is frustrating that the pronunciation is not listed for any word in the entire book. When learning a new vocubulary it is important to not only know what it means, but also how to say it. The definitions concerning pathology terms where often misleading or contradictory to those in the pathology book.

I am a third semester veterinary student and I use this dictionary at least once almost every time I study. The reason I say that first year students will need this book is that I find I am using it less as my basic medical vocabulary grows, but I am still using it regularly. I too borrowed this book from my roommate constantly before I bought my own, even though I own a medical dictionary and had to walk farther to use her vet dictionary. This book simply has more of the veterinary terminology that I need definitions for. It is just the right size to bring with me when I study - it's not too heavy and it has enough words to make it useful. It does have some words that are unnecessary though, such as 'pooper-scooper'!
Another 'pro' for this book is the appendix at the back: there is one for arteries, bones, joints, muscles, nerves, etc. Honestly, the only one I've used is the muscle chart, but that one was great when I was studying for anatomy lab since it has origins and insertions as well as innervations.
Since I do use it so much, I would recommend the hardcover version. If you want to see the picture of the cover or use the 'look inside' feature, you can see these features on the paperback book webpage since they are currently not available at the hardcover webpage. ...
Don't get me wrong; I still think a medical dictionary is useful. I often find words (and their pronunciations, since the Saunders does not have pronunciations) in the medical dictionary that I didn't find in the veterinary dictionary. But I almost always try the veterinary dictionary first, and I almost always find the word I'm looking for in this book.