• A Matsuki.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Hirosaki University, School of Medicine, Hirosaki 036-8562.
• Masui. 2001 May 1;50(5):561-7.

AbstractThe author briefly describes etymology of a Japanese word "Masui" ([symbol: see text]) and discusses why this word has not been correctly understood by lay people as well as Japanese anesthesiologists. The word "Masui" was coined by Seikei Sugita in 1850 when he translated Dutch edition of Schelesinger's monograph on ether anesthesia into Japanese. Therefore the word is not of Chinese origin and has subsequently been exported to China and the countries of Korean peninsula. Although half a century has elapsed since the first Department of Anesthesiology was established at the Tokyo University Faculty of Medicine, social acceptance for our specialty has not adequately and widely been achieved. The author thinks that one of the causes for this inadequate acceptance is that the correct Japanese words of "Masuika-gaku" and "Masuika-i" for Anesthesiology and Anesthesiologists were not coined and the incorrect words as "Masuigaku" and "Masui-i" have been used. Not a small number of Japanese anesthesiologists still employ the words "Masuigaku" and "Masui-i" without any special reasons.

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