Stereoformulae Appendix I Configuration and conformation Appendix 2 Outline of the sequence-rule procedure INTRODUCTION This Section of the IUPAC Rules for Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry differs from previous Sections in that it is here necessary to legislate for words that describe concepts as weil as for names of compounds. At the present time, concepts in stereochemistry (that is, chemistry in three-dimensional space) are in the process of rapid expansion, not merely in organic chemistry,

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... but also in biochemistry, inorganic chemistry, and macromolecular chemistry. The aspects of interest for one area of chemistry often differ from those for another, even in respect of the same phenomenon. This rapid evolution and the variety of interests have led to development of specialized vocabularies and definitions that sometimes differ from one group of specialists to another, sometimes even within one area of chemistry. The Rules in this Section deal only with the main principles of stereochemistry; work on further aspects is under way. The present rules have two objects: to prescribe, for basic concepts, terms that may provide a common language in all areas of stereochemistry; and to define the ways in which these terms may, so far as necessary, be incorporated into the names of individual compounds. Many of these Rules do little more than codify existing practice, often of long standing; however,