gross national product (GNP), in economics, a quantitative measure of a nation's total economic activity, generally assessed yearly or quarterly. The GNP equals the gross domestic product plus income earned by domestic residents through foreign investments minus the income earned by foreign investors in the domestic market. Gross domestic product, often confused with GNP, is calculated from the total value of goods and services produced in an economy over a specified period. Since World War II, GNP has been generally regarded as the most important indicator of the status of an economy. In the United States, the economy is considered to be in recession if there are two consecutive quarters of decrease in GNP. Despite the fact that GNP does not allow for inflation, overall value of production, and other factors, it is nevertheless a significant measurement of economic health. In 1995 the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) created a new system for measuring national wealth, based on the value of natural and mineral resources.

gross domestic product: see gross national product.

Gross, Samuel David, 1805-84, American surgeon, b. near Easton, Pa., M.D. Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, 1828. He taught at the medical colleges of several universities and at Jefferson from 1856. He made outstanding contributions to his profession as teacher of pathological anatomy and surgery; as inventor of surgical instruments and techniques; as author of Elements of Pathological Anatomy (1839), A System of Surgery (1859), and other works; and as a founder of the American Medical Association.

Total market value of the goods and services produced by a nation's economy during a specific period of time. GDP is customarily reported on an annual basis. It is defined to include all final goods and services—that is, those that are produced by the economic resources located in that nation regardless of their ownership and are not resold in any form. GDP differs from gross national product (GNP), which is defined to include all final goods and services produced by resources owned by that nation's residents, whether located in the nation or elsewhere.

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(born July 8, 1805, Easton, Pa., U.S.—died May 6, 1884, Philadelphia) U.S. surgeon, teacher of medicine, and author. He was apprenticed to a local country doctor before receiving formal medical training. His most celebrated work, Elements of Pathological Anatomy (1839), was a pioneering effort that organized knowledge on the subject in English, and his System of Surgery (2 vol., 1859) had a profound effect on surgical thought worldwide. His Manual of Military Surgery (1861) was written at the government's request. Gross also invented many surgical tools. He was memorably portrayed in Thomas Eakins's masterpiece, The Gross Clinic.

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