Thought I'd throw something more interesting amids this nonsensical discussion about spelling. French units indeed originate in France, and their definition is sometimes mistakenly stated as 1 Fr = 1mm/pi rather than 1 Fr = 1mm/3.
On Mon, Jun 23, 2014 at 11:02 PM, James <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks for posting that, Remek! I encountered "French" units in my brief > EMT training and experience, but never knew a conversion factor from those > to real units. > > Jim > > > -- > James R. Frysinger > 632 Stoney Point Mountain Road > Doyle TN 38559-3030 > > (C) 931.212.0267 > (H) 931.657.3107 > (F) 931.657.3108 > > > On 2014-06-23 19:51, Remek Kocz wrote: > >> Some of you here might find this mildly amusing, but most will probably >> groan. I know I do. In medicine, some doctors like to pronounce the >> word centimeter as "sont-o-meter" or "sonometer" if spoken quickly. >> Why? Probably because it sounds French and it gives an impression of >> using a specialized or esoteric unit unique to the field. Informally, I >> noticed that the trend towards this pronunciation is among the >> specialties that use centimeters the least. Internal medicine docs tend >> to say it that way, while surgeons or obstetricians who use centimeters >> daily, usually say things correctly. >> >> Speaking of things French: A curiosity in terms of medical measurement >> is the existence of "French" units. They are exactly 1/3 mm and are >> used to represent diameters of various catheters (intravenous, bladder) >> and tubes. Usually abbreviated "Fr" or sometimes "F." So something >> that's 3 Fr, is 1 mm in diameter. >> > >
