18 Units of Measure

The presentation of quantitative scientific information is an integral component of biomedical publication. Accurate communication of scientific knowledge and presentation of numerical data require a scientifically informative system for reporting units of measure. The International System of Units (Le Système International d'Unités or SI) represents a modified version of the metric system that has been established by international agreement and currently is the official measurement system of most nations of the world.¹ The SI promotes uniformity of quantities and units, minimizes the number of units and multiples used in other measurement systems, and can express virtually any measurement in science, medicine, industry, and commerce. In 1977, the World Health Organization recommended the adoption of the SI by the international scientific community. Since then, many biomedical publications throughout the world have adopted SI units as their preferred and primary method for reporting scientific measurements...Less