BAL

Abbreviation with 2 meanings

BAL
Stands forBronchoalveolar lavage
Meanings2
CategoriesMedical

BAL has two meanings. It stands for Bronchoalveolar lavage (respiratory) or British anti-Lewisite (dimercaprol) (drug).

Meanings of BAL at a glance

#BAL stands forContext
1Bronchoalveolar lavageMedical › Respiratory
2British anti-Lewisite (dimercaprol)Medical › Drug

1. Bronchoalveolar lavage

Medical · Respiratory Abbreviations

Procedure during bronchoscopy in which sterile saline is instilled into a lung segment and suctioned back, collecting cells and organisms from the alveoli for analysis. It diagnoses infections such as Pneumocystis pneumonia and helps evaluate interstitial lung disease and alveolar bleeding.

Example: BAL from the right middle lobe: progressively bloodier returns, consistent with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage.

Cell counts help narrow interstitial lung disease: high lymphocytes suggest sarcoidosis or hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and high eosinophils suggest eosinophilic pneumonia. Increasingly bloody returns in serial aliquots indicate diffuse alveolar hemorrhage. Non-bronchoscopic "mini-BAL" through a catheter is used in ventilated patients. Whole-lung lavage, a different procedure, treats pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.

2. British anti-Lewisite (dimercaprol)

Medical · Drug Abbreviations

Chelating antidote developed by British scientists during World War II against lewisite, an arsenic-based chemical weapon. It is used for arsenic, mercury and severe lead poisoning, given by deep intramuscular injection.

Example: Lead level 82 with encephalopathy: BAL 75 mg/m2 IM q4h, then add CaNa2EDTA.

Dimercaprol is formulated in peanut oil, so it is avoided in people with peanut allergy. Injections are painful, and side effects include high blood pressure and fever. In lead encephalopathy it is given before EDTA to prevent lead from shifting into the brain. In pulmonology BAL means bronchoalveolar lavage.

More respiratory abbreviations

  • APRV – Airway pressure release ventilation
  • ARDS – Acute respiratory distress syndrome
  • ARF – Acute respiratory failure
  • ATS – American Thoracic Society
  • BiPAP – Bilevel positive airway pressure
  • BOOP – Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia
  • BPD – Bronchopulmonary dysplasia
  • CAP – Community-acquired pneumonia

See all 109 respiratory abbreviations →

More drug abbreviations

  • ATRA – All-trans retinoic acid (tretinoin)
  • AZA – Azathioprine
  • AZT – Azidothymidine (zidovudine)
  • B12 – Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin)
  • BDQ – Bedaquiline
  • BIC – Bictegravir
  • bicarb – Sodium bicarbonate
  • BPaL – Bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid

See all 170 drug abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.

This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.