Abbreviations are used very frequently in medicine, despite being widely discouraged by the Institute of Safe Medicine Practices and other organizations concerned about patient safety. Abbreviations are especially discouraged when healthcare providers are communicating with patients and when there is a possibility of confusion between similar abbreviations. Some facilities maintain a list of acceptable abbreviations. Abbreviations are sometimes specific to a facility, which means that newer staff may be unfamiliar with them; this becomes a potential source of preventable medical errors.
The Joint Commission and other organizations maintain lists of certain medical abbreviations that should be avoided to prevent mistakes, according to best practices (and in some cases regulatory requirements); these are flagged in the list of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions.
Orthographic styling
Periods (stops)
Periods (stops) are often used in styling abbreviations. Prevalent practice in medicine today is often to forgo them as unnecessary. Example: Less common: The diagnosis was C.O.P.D. [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] More common: The diagnosis was COPD Vera Pyle’s Current Medical Terminology, 11th Ed., Health Professions Institute, Modesto, California, 2007, p. 174
Plurals
The prevalent way to represent plurals for medical acronyms and initialisms is simply to affix a lowercase s (no apostrophe). Example: one OCP, two OCPs [oral contraceptive pills]. The AAMT Book of Style for Medical Transcription, 2nd Ed., Peg Hughes, CMT, American Association for Medical Transcription, , copyright 2002
Possessives
Possessive forms are not often needed, but can be formed using apostrophe + s. Often the writer can also recast the sentence to avoid it. Example: BP's effect on risk of MI is multifaceted. The effect of BP on MI risk is multifaceted.
Arrows Arrows may be used to indicate numerous conditions including elevation (↑), diminution (↓), and causation (→, ←).
Pronunciation
Pronunciation follows convention outside the medical field, in which acronyms are generally pronounced as if they were a word (JAMA, SIDS), initialisms are generally pronounced as individual letters (DNA, SSRI), and abbreviations generally use the expansion (soln. = "solution", sup. = "superior"). Abbreviations of weights and measures are pronounced using the expansion of the unit (mg = "milligram") and chemical symbols using the chemical expansion (NaCl = "sodium chloride").
Some initialisms deriving from Latin may be pronounced either as letters (qid = "cue eye dee") or using the English expansion (qid = "four times a day").
Some common medical abbreviations
Notation conventions This series of lists omits periods from acronyms and initialisms. It uses periods for certain abbreviations that traditionally often have them (mostly older Latin/Neo-Latin abbreviations). For example, both bid and b.i.d. may be found in the list. It generally uses the singular form of an abbreviation (not the plural) as the headword. This list uses significant capitalization for headwords (the abbreviations) and their expansions. The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 28th Ed., page xi, Merck Research Laboratories, Whitehouse Station, NJ, 2006
AbbFull nameOtherABGarterial blood gasACEangiotensin-converting enzymeACTHadrenocorticotropic hormoneAFVSSAfebrile, vital signs stableADHantidiuretic hormoneAEDautomated external defibrillatorAIDSacquired immunodeficiency syndromeALPalkaline phosphataseALTalanine aminotransferase old version is SGPTASAacetylsalicylic acidaspirinASTaspartate aminotransferase old version is SGOTATPadenosine triphosphateBCGbacille Calmette-Guérinbd, bid2 times a dayBIBAbrought in by ambulanceBIBP, BIBPDbrought in by policeBLSbasic life supportBMRbasal metabolic rateBPblood pressureBPADbipolar affective disorderBPDborderline personality disorderOften incorrectly used for bipolar disorder (BPAD is preferred)BSAbody surface areaBRbedside roundsBUNblood urea nitrogenCCelsius; centigrade; complementCacalciumCAMP, cAMPcyclic adenosine monophosphateCBCcomplete blood countCDCCenters for Disease Control and PreventioncGycentigrayCicurieCKcreatine kinaseClchloride; chlorinecmcentimeter(s)/centimetre(s)CNScentral nervous systemCO2carbon dioxideCOPDchronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseCPKcreatine phosphokinaseCPK-MBcreatine phosphokinase muscle bandisoenzymeCPRcardiopulmonary resuscitationCSFcerebrospinal fluidCTcomputed tomographyCucubicD & Cdilation and curettagedLdeciliter(s)/decilitre(s)1 dL = 100 mLDNAdeoxyribonucleic acidDTPdiphtheria-tetanus-pertussis(toxoids/vaccine)D/Wdextrose in waterECFextracellular fluidECGelectrocardiogramEEGelectroencephalogramEGDesophagogastroduodenoscopyENTear nose and throatERCPendoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographyESRerythrocyte sedimentation rateFFahrenheitFDAU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationFtfoot; feetmeasure unitFUOfever of unknown originG, ggram(s)GFRglomerular filtration rateGIgastrointestinalGVHDgraft-versus-host diseaseG6PDglucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenaseGUgenitourinaryGygrayH, h, hrhour(s)'/24' is generally used in some regions.HbhemoglobinHClhydrochloric acid; hydrochlorideHCO3bicarbonateHcthematocritHgmercuryHIPAAHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability ActHIVhuman immunodeficiency virusHLAhuman leukocyte antigenHMG-CoAhydroxymethyl glutaryl coenzyme Ahsat bedtime Hzhertz cycles/second unitICFintracellular fluidICUintensive care unitIgAetc. immunoglobulin AILinterleukinIMintramuscular(ly)INRinternational normalized ratioIPPBintermittent positive pressure breathingIUinternational unitIVintravenous(ly)IVUintravenous urographyKpotassiumkcalkilocalorie(s)mean food caloriekgkilogram(s)Lliter(s)/litre(s)lbpound(s)LDHlactic dehydrogenaseLDLclow-density lipoprotein cholesterol Mmolarmmeter(s)/metre(s)manein the morningmcmicro- required in some regions to avoid the confusion of 'μ' with 'm' ('milli-').MCHmean corpuscular hemoglobinMCHCmean corpuscular hemoglobin concentrationmCimillicurieMCVmean corpuscular volumemEqMilliequivalentmidimiddayMgmagnesiummgmilligram(s)MImyocardial infarctionMICminimum inhibitory concentrationmin(s)minute(s)'/60' is used in some regions.mIUmilli-international unitmL, milliliter(s)/millilitre(s)mmmillimeter(s)/millimetre(s)mmolmillimole(s)momonth'/12' is used in some regions.molwt molecular weightmOsmmilliosmole(s)MRImagnetic resonance imagingNnitrogen; normalunit to measure strength of solutionNasodiumNaClsodium chlorideNAEONno adverse events overnightngnanogrambillionth of a gram; also known as millimicrogramnmnanometerbillionth of a meter; also known as millimicronnmolnanomolenocteat nightNponothing by mouth/nil by mouthNSAIDnonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugO2oxygenOTCover-the-counter pharmaceuticalsozounce(s)Pphosphorus; pressurePAco2alveolar carbon dioxide partial pressurePaco2arterial carbon dioxide partial pressurePAo2alveolar oxygen partial pressurePao2arterial oxygen partial pressurePASperiodic acid-SchiffPco2carbon dioxide partial pressureor tensionPCRpolymerase chain reactionPETpositron emission tomographypgpicogram(s)micromicrogrampHhydrogen ion concentrationPMNpolymorphonuclear leukocytepoorallyPo2oxygen partial pressure or tensionPPDpurified protein derivative tuberculinppmparts per millionprnas neededfrom the Latin pro re nataPTprothrombin timePTTpartial thromboplastin timeqeveryqid4 times a dayqnevery nightFrom the Latin term quaque nocteRArheumatoid arthritisRBCred blood cellRNAribonucleic acidSao2arterial oxygen saturationSBEsubacute bacterial endocarditisscsubcutaneous(ly)s/eside-effect(s)SIInternational System of UnitsSIDSsudden infant death syndromeSLEsystemic lupus erythematosussolnsolutionspspeciessingularsppspecies pluralsp grspecific gravitysqsquareSSRIselective serotonin reuptake inhibitorSTSserologic test(s) for syphilisT&Atonsillectomy and adenoidectomyTBtuberculosistds3 times a daytid preferred in some regionsTIBCtotal iron-binding capacitytid3 times a daytds preferred in some regionsTPNtotal parenteral nutritionURIupper respiratory infectionURTIupper respiratory tract infectionUTIurinary tract infectionWBCwhite blood cellWHOWorld Health OrganizationWRward roundwtweightμmicro-; micronμCimicrocurieμgmicrogram(s)μLmicroliter(s)/microlitre(s)μmmicrometer(s)/micrometre(s)also referred to as micronsμmolmicromole(s)μOsmmicro-osmole(s)mμmillimicron(s)also referred to as nanometers/nanometres
See also List of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions List of medical roots, suffixes and prefixes Medical dictionary Medical slang Abbreviation#Style conventions in English Acronym and initialism#Orthographic styling
References
. Available online (by subscription) at MedAbbrev.com.
External links Biggest Collection of Medical Abbreviations Glossary of Medical Terms - Tufts University Medical Abbreviations EN English Medical Abbreviations for Android JD.MD, Inc. online Medical & Dental Abbreviations Glossary Acronyms for Medical & Dental professional organizations Medical Abbreviations for iPhone Medical abbreviations on mediLexicon Medical acronyms and abbreviations on allacronyms.com Over 20,000 medical abbreviations sorted into specialist categories Medical abbreviations in various categories such as Physiology, Oncology, Laboratory and more