abbreviations (exam 1) Flashcards
aa
of each (ana)
AAA
apply to affected area
a.c.
before meals (ante cibum)
a.d.
- right ear (auris dextra)
- not recommended for use: “a” can be mistaken as an “o” which could read “o.d.”, meaning right eye
ad lib.
use as much as one desires; freely (ad libitum)
admov.
apply (admove)
agit
stir/shake (agita)
alt. h.
every other hour (alternis horis)
a.m.m.
at doctors hand (ad manu medicae)
a.m.
morning, before noon (ante meridiem)
amp
ampule
amt
amount
aq
water (aqua)
a.l., a.s.
- left ear (auris laeva, auris sinistra)
- not recommended for use: “a” can be mistaken as an “o” which could read “o.s.” or “o.l.”, meaning left eye
A.T.C.
around the clock
a.u.
- both ears (auris utraque)
- not recommended for use: “a” can be mistaken as an “o” which could read “o.u.”, meaning both eyes
bis
twice (bis)
b.d./b.i.d.
twice daily (bis in die)
B.M.
bowel movement
BNF
British National Formulary
bol.
as a large single dose, usually intravenously (bolus)
B.S.
blood sugar
B.S.A.
body surface areas
b.t.
- bedtime
- not recommended for use: mistaken for “b.i.d”, meaning twice daily
BUCC
inside cheek (bucca)
cap., caps.
capsule (capsula)
c, c.
with, usually written with a bar on top of the “c” (cum)
cib.
food (cibus)
cc
- with food, but also cubic centimeter (cum cibo)
- not recommended for use: mistaken for “U”, meaning units; also has an ambiguous meaning; use “mL” or “milliliters”
cf
with food
comp.
compound
cr., crm
cream
CST
continue same treatment
D or d
- days or doses
- not recommended for use: ambiguous meaning, write out “days” or “doses”
D5W
dextrose 5% solution; sometimes written D(subscript5)W
D5NS
dextrose 5% in normal saline (0.9%)
D.A.W.
dispense as written (i.e., no generic substitution)
dc, D/C, disc
- discontinue or discharge
- not recommended for use: ambiguous meaning; interpreted as discontinue whatever medications follow (typically discharge meds)
- preferred term: write “discharge”
dieb. alt.
every other day (diebus alternis)
dil.
dilute
disp.
dispersible or dispense
div.
divide
dL
deciliter
d.t.d.
give of such doses (dentur tales doses)
DTO
- deodorized tincture of opium
- not recommended for use: can easily be confused with “diluted tincture of opium”, which is 1/25th the strength of deodorized tincture of opium; deaths resulted due to massive morphine overdose
D.W.
distilled water
elix.
elixir
e.m.p.
as directed (ex modo prescripto)
emuls.
emulsion (emulsum)
et
and (et)
eod
every other day
ex aq
in water (ex aqua)
fl., fld.
fluid
ft.
make; let it be made (fiat)
g
gram
gr
grain
gtt(s)
drop(s) (gutta(e))
H
hypodermic
h, hr
hour (hora)
h.s.
at bedtime (hora somni)
h.s.
- hour sleep or half-strength
- not recommended for use: ambiguous meaning; mistaken for either half-strength or hour of sleep (at bedtime); q.H.S. mistaken for every hour; all can result in a dosing error
- preferred term: write out “half-strength” or “bedtime”
ID
intradermal
IJ, inj
- injection (injectio)
- not recommended for use: mistaken for “IV”, meaning intravenously
IM
intramuscular (with respect to injections)
IN
- intranasal
- not recommended for use: mistaken for “IM”, meaning intramuscular, or “IV”, meaning intravenously
IP
intraperitoneal
IU
- international unit
- OFFICIAL DO NO USE LIST: mistaken for “IV” or “10”, spell out “international unit”
IV
intravenous
IVP
intravenous push
IVPB
intravenous piggyback
kg
kilogram
L.A.S.
label as such
LCD
coal tar solution
lin
liniment (linimentum)
liq
solution (liquor)
lot.
lotion
MAE
Moves All Extremities
mane
in the morning (mane)
M.
mix (misce)
m, min
a minimum (minimum)
mcg
- microgram
- recommended replacement for “ug” which may be confused for “mg”
m.d.u.
to be used as directed (more dicto utendus)
mEq
milliequivalent
mg
milligram
mg/dL
milligrams per deciliter
MgSO4
- magnesium sulfate
- OFFICIAL DO NOT USE LIST: may be confused with “MSO4”, spell out “magnesium sulfate”
mist.
mix (mistura)
mitte
send (mitte)
mL
milliliter
MS
- morphine sulfate or magnesium sulfate
- OFFICIAL DO NOT USE LIST: can mean either morphine sulfate or magnesium sulfate, spell out either
MSO4
- morphine sulfate
- OFFICIAL DO NOT USE LIST: may be confused with “MgSO4”, spell out “morphine sulfate”
nebul
a spray (nebula)
N.M.T.
not more than
noct.
at night (nocte)
non rep.
no repeats (non repetatur)
NPO
nothing by mouth (nil per os)
NS
normal saline (0.9%)
1/2NS
half normal saline (0.45%)
N.T.E.
not to exceed
o_2
both eyes, sometimes written as o(subscript2)
od
every day/once daily, preferred to qd in the UK (omne in die)
od
- right eye (oculus dexter)
- not recommended for use: “o” can be mistaken as an “a” which could read “a.d.”, meaning right ear, confusion with omne in die
om
every morning (omne mane)
on
every night (omne nocte)
o.p.d.
once per day
o.s.
- left eye (oculus sinister)
- not recommended for use: “o” can be mistaken as an “a” which could read “a.s.”, meaning left ear
o.u.
- both eyes (oculus uterque)
- not recommended for use: “o” can be mistaken as an “a” which could read “a.u.”, meaning both ears
oz
ounce
per
by or through (per)
p.c.
after meals (post cibum)
pig./pigm.
paint (pigmentum)
p.m.
evening or afternoon (post meridiem)
p.o.
by mouth or orally (per os)
p.r.
by rectum (per rectum)
PRN, prn
as needed (pro re nata)
pulv.
powder (pulvis)
PV
via the vagina (per vaginam)
q
every, per (quaque)
q.a.d.
every other day (quaque alternis die)
q.a.m.
every day before noon (quaque die ante meridiem)
q.d.s.
- four times a day (quater die sumendus)
- can be mistaken for “qd” (every day)
q.p.m.
every day after noon or every evening (quaque die post meridiem)
q.h.
every hour (quaque hora)
q.h.s.
every night at bedtime (quaque hora somni)
q.1 h, q.1°
every 1 hour; can replace “1” with other numbers (quaque 1 hora)
q.d., q1d
- every day (quaque die)
- OFFICIAL DO NOT USE LIST: mistaken for “QOD” or “qds”, spell out “every day” or “daily”
q.i.d.
- four times a day (quater in die)
- not recommended for use: can be mistaken for “qd” or “qod”, write out “four times a day”
q4PM
- at 4pm
- not recommended for use: mistaken to mean every four hours
q.o.d.
- every other day
- OFFICIAL DO NOT USE LIST: mistaken for “QD”, spell out “every other day”
qqh
every four hours (quater quaque hora)
q.s.
a sufficient quantity (quantum sufficiat)
QWK
every week
R
rectal
rep., rept.
repeats (repetatur)
RL, R/L
Ringer’s lactate
s
without; usually written with a bar on top of the “s” (sine)
s.a.
according to the art (accepted practice); use your judgement (secundum artem)
SC, subc, subcut, subq, SQ
- subcutaneous
- not recommended for use: “SC” can be mistaken for “SL”, meaning sublingual; “SQ” can be mistaken for “5Q”, meaning five every dose
- preferred term: write “Sub-Q”, “subQ”, or “subcutaneously”
s.i.d./SID
- once a day (semel in die)
- used exclusively in veterinary medicine
sig
write on label (signa)
SL
sublingually, under the tongue
sol
solution (solutio)
s.o.s., si op. sit
if there is a need (si opus sit)
ss
- one half or sliding scale (semis)
- not recommended for use: mistaken for “55” or “1/2”
SSI, SSRI
- sliding scale insulin or sliding scale regular insulin
- not recommended for use: mistaken to mean “strong solution of iodine” or “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor”
SNRI (antidepressant)
serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor
SSRI (antidepressant)
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (a specific class of antidepressant)
stat
immediately (statim)
SubQ
subcutaneously
supp
suppository (suppositorium)
susp
suspension
syr
syrup (syrupus)
tab
tablet (tabella)
tal., t
such (talus)
tbsp
tablespoon
troche
lozenge (trochiscus)
t.d.s.
three times a day (ter die sumendum)
t.i.d.
three times a day (ter in die)
t.i.w.
- three times a week
- not recommended for use: mistaken for twice a week or three times a day, resulting in an overdose
- preferred term: write out “three times weekly”
top.
topical
T.P.N.
total parenteral nutrition
tr, tinc., tinct.
tincture
tsp
teaspoon
U
- unit
- OFFICIAL DO NOT USE LIST: mistaken for a “4”, “0” or “cc”, spell out “unit”
u.d., ut. dict.
as directed (ut dictum)
ung.
ointment (unguentum)
U.S.P.
United States Pharmacopoeia
vag
vaginally
w
with
w/a
while awake
wf
with food, with meals
w/o, s
without
X
times
Y.O.
years old
ug
- microgram
- not recommended for use: mistaken for “mg”, meaning milligram (resulting in one thousand fold dosing overdose)
- preferred term: write “mcg”
@
- at
- not recommended for use: mistaken for “2”; spell out “at”
>
- greater than
- not recommended for use: mistaken for a “7”
<
- less than
- not recommended for use: mistaken for an “L”
℞
take, take this, or take thus (recipe)
