BMT

Abbreviation with 3 meanings

BMT
Stands forBone marrow transplant
Meanings3
CategoriesMedical, Military

BMT has three meanings. The most common are Bone marrow transplant (hematology and oncology) and Basic Military Training (military term); it can also stand for Bilateral myringotomy and tubes.

Meanings of BMT at a glance

#BMT stands forContext
1Bone marrow transplantMedical › Hematology and Oncology
2Basic Military TrainingMilitary › Military Term
3Bilateral myringotomy and tubesMedical › Surgical

1. Bone marrow transplant

Medical · Hematology and Oncology Abbreviations

Infusion of healthy blood-forming stem cells to replace diseased or destroyed bone marrow, used for leukemias, lymphomas, myeloma, aplastic anemia and some inherited disorders. The name persists even though most transplants now use stem cells collected from the blood.

Example: BMT unit admission for allogeneic transplant from a matched unrelated donor; day 0 tomorrow.

E. Donnall Thomas performed pioneering marrow transplants in Seattle and shared the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this work. Today "stem cell transplant" or "hematopoietic cell transplant" are the preferred technical terms, but hospital units are still often called BMT units. In ear, nose and throat surgery BMT means bilateral myringotomy and tubes.

2. Basic Military Training

Military · Military Term Abbreviations

Air Force and Space Force enlisted basic training, held at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, lasting about seven and a half weeks. Trainees learn drill, fitness, core values and expeditionary skills before technical training.

Example: BMT graduation parades at Lackland draw thousands of families every week.

Air Force trainees are led by military training instructors (MTIs), now called training instructors, rather than drill sergeants. Graduates receive the Airman's Coin, marking the transition from trainee to airman, and then move on to technical training.

3. Bilateral myringotomy and tubes

Medical · Surgical Abbreviations

Ear procedure in which a small incision is made in each eardrum, fluid is suctioned from the middle ear and tiny ventilation tubes are inserted. It treats recurrent ear infections and persistent middle ear fluid with hearing loss, mostly in young children.

Example: BMT under mask anesthesia; thick mucoid effusion found in both ears.

Tympanostomy tube placement is the most common ambulatory surgery performed on children in the United States. Tubes usually fall out on their own within about 6 to 18 months. In hematology and oncology BMT means bone marrow transplant, a completely different procedure.

More hematology and oncology abbreviations

  • ASCT – Autologous stem cell transplant
  • ASH – American Society of Hematology
  • BCR-ABL – Breakpoint cluster region-Abelson fusion gene
  • BEP – Bleomycin, etoposide, Platinol (cisplatin)
  • BRAF – B-Raf proto-oncogene
  • BRCA – Breast cancer gene
  • Ca – Cancer (carcinoma)
  • CA 19-9 – Carbohydrate antigen 19-9

See all 144 hematology and oncology abbreviations →

More military term abbreviations

  • BCT – Basic Combat Training
  • BDA – Battle damage assessment
  • BDU – Battle Dress Uniform
  • BLUF – Bottom line up front
  • BOHICA – Bend over, here it comes again
  • BOLC – Basic Officer Leader Course
  • BRAC – Base Realignment and Closure
  • BUD/S – Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training

See all 248 military term abbreviations →

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