Talk:azathioprine

Latest comment: 16 years ago by Stephen G. Brown

Why would this have to be a dictionary article? Translation of chemical names follow systematic rules, I think.

Adrenaline is called epinephrine in some countries, this is the kind of relation you'd expect to find in a dictionary. I know of no such alternative names for azathioprine.

What rules do you mean? Some languages have it ending in -in or -ine, others in -ina. Some are masculine, others are feminine. Some are intuitive, others, such as Chinese "liúzuòpiāolíng" are not. Good dictionaries include numerous chemical terms. Because there are so many chemicals, only the more common or more important terms are included. As far as I know, the decision is based on frequency and importance, not on whether certain rules, known only to a group of experts, are used. —Stephen 09:11, 17 October 2008 (UTC)Reply