On 2005 Dec 10 , at 5:31 PM, Paul Trusten, R.Ph. wrote (quoting others, I believe):
... exception to SI symbol use in healthcare is
JCAHO's prohibition of the Greek letter "mu" for the SI prefix "micro." When
handwritten, "mu" is is easily confused with a lower case "m,"
I cannot comprehend how a properly written (or printed) Greek letter mu (µ) can be mistaken for a properly written (or printed) Latin letter em (m).
Look at the two of them*:
mu µ
em m
µ m µ m µ m µ m µ m µ
µµµµ
mmmm
Where's the similarity???
That extended tail on the front end of a mu is a dead giveaway.
It's like saying the symbols for centimetres (cm) and kilometres (km) can be confused because a cee (c) looks like a kay (k). Ridiculous!
When I write a mu it looks like the mu above, not an em; and vice versa.
Regards,
Bill Hooper
Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA
*At least those symbols above SHOULD look like the greek letter mu (µ). It is possible that electronic transmission of special characters like Greek letters will not always be conveyed correctly. That's a problem with electronic transmission, not with the letters em and mu.
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Make it simple; Make it Metric
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