Medical Abbreviations

2,747 abbreviations in 35 subcategories

Medical abbreviations are the shorthand of prescriptions, nursing notes, lab reports and hospital charts. Many come from Latin (PRN, BID, NPO), others name diseases, procedures and tests (TIA, CABG, CBC). Because a misread abbreviation can cause a medication error, organizations such as The Joint Commission and ISMP publish lists of abbreviations that should never be used; those warnings are noted on the relevant pages.

• Cardiology
• Laboratory Test
• Hematology and Oncology
• Healthcare Credential
• Neurology
• Drug
• Mental Health & Psychiatry
• Health Insurance
• Infectious Disease
• Obstetrics & Gynecology
• Respiratory
• Emergency Medicine
• Nursing
• Pharmacy
• Hospital
• Rehabilitation
• Gastroenterology
• Drug Class
• Medical Documentation
• Medical Research
• Ophthalmology & ENT
• Musculoskeletal & Rheumatology
• Patient Assessment
• Prescription
• Nephrology & Urology
• Endocrinology & Diabetes
• Anatomy
• Pediatric & Neonatal
• Medical Imaging
• Dermatology
• Surgical
• Medical Specialty
• Medication Route
• Anesthesia
• Pharmacology

Cardiology Abbreviations

Abbreviations for heart and blood vessel conditions, heart rhythms, cardiac tests, procedures, devices and risk scores, as written in cardiology notes, ECG and echocardiogram reports, cath lab records and discharge summaries. Many short forms carry more than one cardiac meaning (PDA is both a congenital defect and a coronary artery, SVT can be a rhythm or a leg-vein clot), so the section of the note or the test being reported decides the reading. Patient-facing documents and medication orders should spell terms out, and hospital "do not use" lists discourage ambiguous abbreviations such as MS.

All 229 cardiology abbreviations →

Laboratory Test Abbreviations

Abbreviations for blood, urine and other laboratory tests as they appear on order sets, patient portals and lab reports, from routine panels such as the CBC and BMP to coagulation, liver, lipid, blood gas, microbiology and blood bank testing. Reference ranges quoted on these pages are typical adult values given for orientation only: they vary by laboratory, analytical method, age, sex and pregnancy, so results should always be read against the range printed on the report and interpreted by a clinician.

All 135 laboratory test abbreviations →

Hematology and Oncology Abbreviations

Abbreviations for blood disorders, clotting and bleeding conditions, leukemias, lymphomas, myeloma and solid tumors, together with cancer staging, treatment response criteria, transfusion products, stem cell transplantation, tumor biomarkers and named chemotherapy regimens. They are used in hematology and oncology clinic notes, pathology reports, tumor boards, infusion center orders and clinical trial documents. Regimen acronyms are built from drug names, often brand names (the O in CHOP is Oncovin), so orders should always list each drug and dose in full.

All 144 hematology and oncology abbreviations →

Healthcare Credential Abbreviations

Healthcare credential abbreviations follow clinicians' names on badges, signatures and directories and show their degree, license and specialty certification, such as RN, BSN, FNP-BC, PA-C or CCC-SLP. Licenses (RN, LPN, LCSW) are granted by state boards and are required to practice, while certifications (CCRN, CEN, OCN) come from national boards and show specialty expertise. A common convention lists the highest earned degree first, then licensure, state designations, national certifications and honors, though order varies by profession.

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Neurology Abbreviations

Abbreviations for conditions of the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles, together with the tests, scales, procedures and anatomy used to diagnose and treat them, as found in stroke codes, neurology consult notes, EEG and EMG reports, neurosurgery records and rehabilitation plans. Several short forms have more than one neurological meaning (ICH can be intracerebral or intracranial hemorrhage) and others clash with common meanings elsewhere (MS, AD, PD), so the surrounding note matters. Time-critical terms such as LKW, NIHSS and tPA appear in emergency stroke protocols, where precise documentation directly affects eligibility for treatment.

All 131 neurology abbreviations →

Drug Abbreviations

Drug abbreviations are short forms for individual medicines, such as APAP for acetaminophen, ASA for aspirin, HCTZ for hydrochlorothiazide and MTX for methotrexate, along with chemical formulas used as drug names (KCl, MgSO4) and abbreviations for antidotes, hormones, HIV and tuberculosis drugs and recreational substances. They save time in charts and pharmacy systems but are a recognized source of medication errors: The Joint Commission bans MS, MSO4 and MgSO4 in orders, and ISMP recommends writing full generic names because abbreviations such as AZT, HCT, MTX and PTU have each been confused with other medicines.

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Mental Health & Psychiatry Abbreviations

Abbreviations for psychiatric and neurodevelopmental diagnoses, substance use disorders, symptoms recorded in risk assessments, screening scales, psychotherapies, medication side effects and treatment settings. Most diagnostic terms follow the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-5-TR, while British and international records often use ICD terms such as EUPD and BPAD. Several letters carry more than one psychiatric meaning (ASD, SAD, PD, PDD, ACT), and many also mean something unrelated elsewhere in medicine, so entries explain how to tell them apart.

All 100 mental health & psychiatry abbreviations →

Health Insurance Abbreviations

Abbreviations found on insurance cards, benefit summaries, explanation of benefits statements, medical bills and enrollment forms, including US plan types, tax-advantaged health accounts, Medicare and Medicaid programs, billing code sets, claim forms and health care payment and privacy rules. Dollar limits and enrollment dates change every year and differ by plan, so figures are given as examples for the year stated; current details come from plan documents, HealthCare.gov, Medicare.gov or the IRS.

All 107 health insurance abbreviations →

Infectious Disease Abbreviations

Abbreviations for infections and the organisms that cause them, HIV care, sexually transmitted infections, viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, drug-resistant bacteria, hospital infection control and adult vaccines. They appear in infectious disease consult notes, microbiology reports, public health alerts and infection prevention dashboards. Organism names are conventionally italicized in full (Staphylococcus aureus) and abbreviated after first use (S. aureus), while surveillance terms such as CLABSI and CAUTI follow CDC National Healthcare Safety Network definitions.

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Obstetrics & Gynecology Abbreviations

Abbreviations used in prenatal records, ultrasound reports, labor and delivery notes, gynecologic surgery, cervical screening, contraception, menopause care and fertility treatment. Pregnancy dating and obstetric history follow conventions such as gestational age in weeks plus days and the GTPAL system, and most US clinical definitions come from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Several letters overlap with other specialties, for example GA, ROM, CS and IOL, so entries explain how to tell them apart.

All 89 obstetrics & gynecology abbreviations →

Respiratory Abbreviations

Abbreviations for lung and airway diseases, breathing symptoms, pulmonary function and sleep tests, oxygen delivery devices, mechanical ventilation settings and inhaled medicines, as used by pulmonologists, respiratory therapists, intensivists, sleep physicians and nurses. Ventilator and oxygen abbreviations such as FiO2, PEEP and HFNC appear in orders that are acted on minute to minute, so units and settings should always be written alongside them. Several short forms are shared with other fields (PE also means physical examination, RV right ventricle, Vt is distinct from VT), so the clinical setting decides the meaning.

All 109 respiratory abbreviations →

Emergency Medicine Abbreviations

Emergency medicine abbreviations cover the language of emergency departments and prehospital care: resuscitation courses and outcomes (CPR, ACLS, ROSC), triage systems (ESI, START), trauma mechanisms and assessments (MVC, GSW, FAST), code status and advance directives (DNR, POLST) and EMS operations (BVM, ETCO2, PCR). Many are defined by organizations such as the American Heart Association, the American College of Surgeons and the National Registry of EMTs, and some carry legal weight, such as EMTALA obligations or signed DNR orders. Code status abbreviations should always be confirmed against the signed order, since a misunderstanding can lead to unwanted or withheld resuscitation.

All 97 emergency medicine abbreviations →

Nursing Abbreviations

Nursing abbreviations are the shorthand of bedside orders, flowsheets, care plans and shift notes: activity and diet orders (NPO, BRP, OOB), safety and skin care (SCDs, HOB, C/D/I), lines and tubes (PICC, NGT, KVO) and quick findings (NKDA, WNL, PERRLA). Most are institutional conventions rather than national standards, so every hospital keeps its own approved list. Abbreviations that can be misread in medication orders, such as D/C and slash marks, appear on the ISMP list of error-prone abbreviations and should be written out in full.

All 90 nursing abbreviations →

Pharmacy Abbreviations

Pharmacy abbreviations cover dosage forms (tab, cap, susp), the release technologies printed after drug names (ER, XR, SR, DR, ODT), IV fluids (NS, D5W, LR) and the operational and regulatory terms of community and hospital pharmacy, from OTC and NDC to PBM, prior authorization and controlled-substance schedules. Release suffixes such as XL, CD and LA are chosen by manufacturers and are not standardized, so products with different suffixes may not be interchangeable. Extended-release, enteric-coated and orally disintegrating products generally must not be crushed or chewed, as tracked in ISMP's "Do Not Crush" list.

All 134 pharmacy abbreviations →

Hospital Abbreviations

Hospital abbreviations name the units, departments, facility types, roles and safety programs that patients and staff encounter, from the ICU, ED and PACU to post-acute settings such as SNFs, LTACHs and IRFs. Many facility types (CAH, FQHC, SNF, IRF) are defined by US Medicare and Medicaid rules that set what services they provide and how they are paid, while unit names vary between hospitals. Infection-control and quality abbreviations such as CLABSI, CAUTI and HCAHPS refer to nationally tracked measures that affect hospital ratings and payment.

All 89 hospital abbreviations →

Rehabilitation Abbreviations

Rehabilitation abbreviations are used by physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists and rehab nurses to record function, assistance levels, weight-bearing orders, equipment, treatments and standardized outcome measures. Terms such as ADL, ROM, WBAT, CGA and FWW appear in therapy evaluations, nursing handoffs and discharge plans, where they determine whether a patient can safely go home and what equipment or services are needed. Assistance levels and weight-bearing orders should always be read exactly as written, because a misread order can lead to falls or surgical failure.

All 98 rehabilitation abbreviations →

Gastroenterology Abbreviations

Gastroenterology and hepatology abbreviations name digestive and liver diseases, endoscopic procedures, stool tests and GI symptoms found in clinic notes, endoscopy reports and discharge summaries. Several have changed recently: in 2023 international liver societies replaced NAFLD and NASH with MASLD and MASH. Short forms such as CD, BE, HH and PEG carry more than one GI meaning, so the surrounding report usually decides which is intended.

All 85 gastroenterology abbreviations →

Drug Class Abbreviations

Drug class abbreviations group medicines by how they work or what they treat: ACEI and ARB for blood pressure, SSRI and SNRI for depression, DOAC and LMWH for anticoagulation, SGLT2i and GLP-1 RA for diabetes and NSAID for pain and inflammation. Clinicians use them in notes, guidelines and interaction warnings because drugs in one class usually share benefits, side effects and contraindications. A few class abbreviations are risky: ISMP notes that SSRI has also been used for "sliding scale regular insulin", and that "NOAC" has been misread as "no anticoagulation", so many institutions prefer DOAC.

All 113 drug class abbreviations →

Medical Documentation Abbreviations

Medical documentation abbreviations structure the notes clinicians write every day: history and physicals, SOAP progress notes, handoff reports, discharge summaries and order records. They range from note headings (HPI, ROS, PMH, A/P) and the "x" family of shorthand (Hx, Dx, Tx, Sx) to social history terms (ETOH, PPD) and handoff tools (SBAR, I-PASS). Several, such as D/C, are on the ISMP list of error-prone abbreviations because they can mean opposite things, so many hospitals require them to be written out in orders.

All 79 medical documentation abbreviations →

Medical Research Abbreviations

Abbreviations used in clinical trials, epidemiology, biostatistics, evidence-based medicine, health economics and drug and device regulation, as they appear in journal articles, study protocols, consent forms and regulatory documents. Knowing terms such as RCT, NNT, ITT and QALY helps readers judge how strong a study's evidence is and what its results mean for patients. Regulatory entries mainly describe the US FDA framework, with European and UK counterparts noted where relevant.

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Ophthalmology & ENT Abbreviations

Abbreviations for eye diseases, eye examinations and imaging, eyeglass prescriptions, refractive and retinal procedures, and ear, nose and throat conditions and hearing tests, as written in eye clinic notes, optical prescriptions, audiograms and otolaryngology reports. Eye charts use their own shorthand for vision too poor to read letters (CF, HM, LP, NLP), and eyeglass prescriptions list sphere, cylinder, axis and add power for each eye. Several letters, such as SLE, PD, ADD, PRP and IOP, mean something very different in other specialties, so entries explain how to tell them apart.

All 74 ophthalmology & ENT abbreviations →

Musculoskeletal & Rheumatology Abbreviations

Abbreviations for arthritis and autoimmune rheumatic diseases, sports injuries, ligaments and joints, spine conditions, fractures and orthopedic operations, as written in rheumatology and orthopedic clinic notes, MRI reports, operative notes and sports medicine coverage. Many come in families: knee ligaments (ACL, MCL, PCL, LCL), finger joints (MCP, PIP, DIP) and joint replacements (THA, TKA). Some letters, such as AS, DM, OCD and SLE, also have unrelated meanings in other specialties, so entries explain how to tell them apart.

All 71 musculoskeletal & rheumatology abbreviations →

Patient Assessment Abbreviations

Patient assessment abbreviations record vital signs, consciousness, pain scores, early warning scores and head-to-toe examination findings in nursing flowsheets, triage notes and physician exams. Many are standardized scales with published scoring rules, such as the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), FLACC or NEWS2, while others are bedside shorthand like PWD or NT/ND whose exact meaning depends on local charting policy. Recording the actual value, the scale used and the time measured matters more than the abbreviation itself.

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Prescription Abbreviations

Prescription abbreviations are the shorthand prescribers, pharmacists and nurses use to say how often, when and how much of a medicine to give, and to write the directions ("sig") printed on a pharmacy label. Many come from Latin, such as BID (bis in die) and PRN (pro re nata). Several look-alike forms, including QD, QOD, U and IU, are on The Joint Commission "Do Not Use" list, and others such as qhs, TIW and BIW appear on the ISMP list of error-prone abbreviations, so most hospitals now require the words to be written out.

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Nephrology & Urology Abbreviations

Abbreviations for kidney disease, dialysis, kidney function tests, urinary tract conditions, prostate and bladder disorders, and urologic procedures, as they appear in nephrology notes, dialysis unit records, urology reports and discharge summaries. Kidney terminology has shifted in recent years, for example from ARF to AKI and from ESRD to kidney failure (ESKD), and KDIGO guidelines define most staging systems. Some short forms, such as PD, RP and UC, mean different things in other specialties, so entries explain how to tell them apart.

All 71 nephrology & urology abbreviations →

Endocrinology & Diabetes Abbreviations

Abbreviations for diabetes, glucose monitoring and insulin delivery, thyroid and parathyroid disease, adrenal and pituitary disorders, and the hormones and tests used to diagnose them. Diabetes terminology has changed over time: IDDM and NIDDM gave way to type 1 and type 2 diabetes in 1997, and in 2022 diabetes insipidus was proposed to be renamed arginine vasopressin deficiency. Several short forms, such as DM, GD, CS and GAD, have other meanings in other specialties, so entries note how to tell them apart.

All 64 endocrinology & diabetes abbreviations →

Anatomy Abbreviations

Abbreviations for body regions, organ systems, vertebral levels, joints, ligaments, blood vessels and other anatomical structures as written in physical exam notes, imaging reports, operative notes and anatomy courses. Sides, limbs and the four abdominal quadrants are routinely abbreviated, and spinal levels follow a letter-number system (C for cervical, T for thoracic, L for lumbar, S for sacral). Where the same letters also name an unrelated condition, test or procedure, the entry explains how to tell them apart.

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Pediatric & Neonatal Abbreviations

Abbreviations from newborn and NICU care, infant sleep safety, newborn screening, growth and development, common childhood illnesses, child protection and the childhood immunization schedule. They appear in delivery room records, NICU progress notes, well-child visit templates and vaccine records. Vaccine abbreviations follow the CDC's standardized list, in which capitalization carries meaning: DTaP for young children contains full-strength diphtheria and pertussis components, while the adolescent Tdap contains reduced amounts.

All 51 pediatric & neonatal abbreviations →

Medical Imaging Abbreviations

Abbreviations used in radiology orders and reports for X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, nuclear medicine and fluoroscopy studies, together with MRI sequences, contrast agents, standardized scoring systems such as BI-RADS and the computer systems that store medical images. Entries explain what each study shows, whether it involves ionizing radiation or contrast, and how look-alike terms differ. Preparation, contrast use and radiation dose vary by protocol and facility.

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Dermatology Abbreviations

Abbreviations for skin cancers, inflammatory skin diseases, hair disorders, blistering diseases, severe drug reactions, skin tests, topical and light-based treatments, and cosmetic procedures, as used in dermatology clinic notes, pathology reports and sunscreen labels. Several are easily confused with common meanings elsewhere in medicine, for example AD (atopic dermatitis vs Alzheimer's disease), HS (hidradenitis suppurativa vs at bedtime) and BP (bullous pemphigoid vs blood pressure). Severity scores such as PASI and EASI are standard endpoints in clinical trials of new skin drugs.

All 52 dermatology abbreviations →

Surgical Abbreviations

Abbreviations for operations, perioperative workflow and surgical quality terms as written in operative notes, surgical schedules, consent forms and discharge instructions, covering general, breast, colorectal, bariatric, ENT, eye, plastic, vascular and orthopedic procedures. Many are informal clippings used by surgical teams, such as appy, lap chole and ex lap. Anesthesia terms are collected separately under anesthesia abbreviations.

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Medical Specialty Abbreviations

Short names for medical and surgical specialties, subspecialties and physician training terms as they appear in consult requests, hospital paging, referral letters and residency applications. Many are clipped words rather than initials (Peds, Ortho, Rheum, Psych), and some letters carry unrelated meanings elsewhere in medicine, such as ID (infectious disease or intradermal) and IM (internal medicine or intramuscular). Training lengths given are typical US pathways and differ in other countries.

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Medication Route Abbreviations

Route abbreviations tell nurses, pharmacists and patients how a medicine enters the body: by mouth (PO), into a vein (IV), into muscle (IM), under the skin (subcut), into the eye or ear, through a feeding tube or by inhalation. The route changes how fast and how completely a drug is absorbed, so a dose that is safe by one route can be dangerous by another. Several route abbreviations, including SC, SQ, IN and the eye and ear forms OD, OS, AD and AS, are on the ISMP list of error-prone abbreviations, and ISMP recommends writing "subcut", "intranasal", "right eye" or "left ear" instead.

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Anesthesia Abbreviations

Abbreviations used by anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists and perioperative teams for types of anesthesia, airway devices and techniques, regional nerve blocks, monitoring, preoperative risk scores and anesthetic complications. They appear in pre-anesthesia evaluations, intraoperative records and recovery notes. Doses and thresholds mentioned are illustrative only, since anesthetic care is individualized and governed by institutional protocols.

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Pharmacology Abbreviations

Pharmacology abbreviations describe how drugs move through and act on the body (PK, PD, AUC, t1/2), how their safety is tracked (ADR, ADE, BBW) and how they are named and classified (INN, USAN, ATC). They appear in prescribing information, clinical trial reports, drug interaction references and pharmacy and medical education. Many come from pharmacokinetics, where a few numbers such as half-life, peak concentration and volume of distribution determine how much of a drug is given and how often.

All 36 pharmacology abbreviations →

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