A prodromus ('forerunner' or 'precursor') aka prodrome is a term used in the

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

to describe a preliminary publication intended as the basis for a later, more comprehensive work. It is also a medical term used for a premonitory symptom, that is, a symptom indicating the onset of a disease. The origin of the word is from the 19th century: via French from New Latin prodromus, from Greek prodromos forerunner.

Nicolas Steno Niels Steensen ( da, Niels Steensen; Latinized to ''Nicolaus Steno'' or ''Nicolaus Stenonius''; 1 January 1638 – 25 November 1686Ludovico Marracci Ludovico Marracci (6 October 1612 – 5 February 1700), also known by Luigi Marracci, was an Italian Oriental scholar and professor of Arabic in the College of Wisdom at Rome. He is chiefly known as the publisher and editor of Quran of Muhammad ...

's Latin translation from the Arabic

Qur’an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...

was published in 1698. His ‘Introduction’ (''Prodromus'') had been published seven years earlier.Alastair Hamilton, ''After Marracci: The Reception of Ludovico Marracci’s Edition of The Qur’an in Northern Europe from the Late 17thC to the Early 19thC'',

The Warburg Institute The Warburg Institute is a research institution associated with the University of London in central London, England. A member of the School of Advanced Study, its focus is the study of cultural history and the role of images in culture – cros ...

Other notable prodromi include ''

Prodromus Entomology ''Prodromus Entomology'' is one of the earliest books about Australian natural history, and the first book about Australia containing plates engraved in Australia. The full title of the first edition is ''Prodromus Entomology. Natural History o ...

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Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Novae ...

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Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis ''Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis'' (1824–1873), also known by its standard botanical abbreviation ''Prodr. (DC.)'', is a 17-volume treatise on botany initiated by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle. De Candolle intended it as a summa ...

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References

Academic publishing Natural sciences Medical terminology {{science-stub