The Nomenclature of Lipids* PREFACE

‘The nomenclature of lipids is the concern both of organic chemists and of biochemists. The systematic names of indi-vidual lipids can always be derived by the general rules of organic nomenclature; however, such names are often com-plex and need to be supplemented by alternative “semisys-tematic ” names (as has been done, e.g., for steroids and cor-rinoids). Another problem is that of names for groups of related and homologous compounds (including mixtures) ; such names are hardly ever needed by the pure organic chemist, but are very necessary in biochemical work. Several attempts have been made in the past to standardize nomenclature in the lipid field, notably by the United States NAS-NRC Subcommittee on the Nomenclature of Biochemis-try under the Chairmanship of W. E. M. Lands (Ann Arbor, Michigan) in 1962. At about the same time, proposals wer