‘Organic’ and ‘non-organic’: a tale of two turnips

Neurologists use the word ‘organic’ a lot. We like to think we can spot when things are ‘organic’ or indeed ‘non-organic’. But what exactly do we mean? The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) gives us eight definitions of the word organic. No wonder we get so confused by it. In the biological/medical sense it comes up with ‘ Of a part of the body: composed of distinct parts or tissues (obs.); of, relating to, or of the nature of an organ or organs. Later (Med.): producing or characterized by structural or other pathological change in an organ or organs (now esp. the brain) (cf. functional adj. 3b); not psychogenic ’.1 The chemical definition boils it right down to basics, ‘ relating to or designating compounds which exist naturally as constituents of living organisms or are formed from such substances …