OM
Abbreviation with 4 meanings
| Stands for | Otitis media |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 4 |
| Categories | Medical, Geography & Places, Writing & Everyday |
| Also written | om |
OM has four meanings. The most common are Otitis media (ophthalmology & ENT) and Obtuse marginal artery (cardiology); it can also stand for Oman and Omitted word.
Meanings of OM at a glance
| # | OM stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Otitis media | Medical › Ophthalmology & ENT |
| 2 | Obtuse marginal artery | Medical › Cardiology |
| 3 | Oman | Geography & Places › Country Code |
| 4 | Omitted word | Writing & Everyday › Proofreading and Correction Mark |
1. Otitis media
Medical · Ophthalmology & ENT Abbreviations
Inflammation or infection of the middle ear, the air-filled space behind the eardrum, very common in young children. The term covers acute infection (AOM), fluid without infection (OME) and chronic draining ear disease (CSOM).
Example: Recurrent OM, 5 episodes in 12 months; ENT referral to discuss tympanostomy tubes.
Ear infections are among the most common reasons US children are prescribed antibiotics. Short, horizontal Eustachian tubes make young children especially prone. Daycare attendance, bottle-feeding while lying down and secondhand smoke increase risk, while vaccines against pneumococcus and influenza reduce it. In cardiology OM means obtuse marginal artery.
2. Obtuse marginal artery
Medical · Cardiology Abbreviations
Branch of the left circumflex artery that runs along the lateral wall of the left ventricle, near the heart's obtuse margin. Most people have one to three, numbered OM1, OM2 and OM3 from the base toward the apex.
Example: SVG to OM1 occluded on today's angiogram; native circumflex treated with PCI.
OM branches are frequent targets for bypass grafts and stents because they supply a large share of the lateral wall, an area poorly represented on the 12-lead ECG. In ear, nose and throat medicine and pediatrics OM means otitis media, a middle ear infection.
3. Oman
Geography & Places · Country Code Abbreviations
Oman, capital Muscat, alpha-3 OMN, is a sultanate on the southeastern Arabian Peninsula, including the Musandam exclave on the Strait of Hormuz. Its .om domain has been abused by typosquatters because users mistype .com.
Example: Mistyped .om addresses can send visitors to Oman's domain instead of a .com site.
Oman has often acted as a quiet mediator in regional diplomacy. The Omani rial (OMR) is one of the highest-valued currencies.
4. Omitted word (om)
Writing & Everyday · Proofreading and Correction Mark Abbreviations
Marks a place where a word has been left out, often with a caret showing where to insert it. Teachers and proofreaders use it for missing articles, prepositions and verbs.
Example: The caret and om in the margin showed I had written "went the store" instead of "went to the store."
Missing words are hard for writers to spot because the brain fills in what it expects to see, which is why proofreading aloud or reading a printed copy helps. The caret (^) is the standard proofreading symbol for an insertion. Some correction systems use "inc" for an incomplete construction.
Related abbreviations
More ophthalmology & ENT abbreviations
- NTG – Normal-tension glaucoma
- OAE – Otoacoustic emissions
- OCT – Optical coherence tomography
- OE – Otitis externa
- OME – Otitis media with effusion
- PACG – Primary angle-closure glaucoma
- PCO – Posterior capsule opacification
- PD – Pupillary distance
See all 74 ophthalmology & ENT abbreviations →
More cardiology abbreviations
- NSVT – Nonsustained ventricular tachycardia
- NT-proBNP – N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide
- NYHA – New York Heart Association
- OH – Orthostatic hypotension
- OPCAB – Off-pump coronary artery bypass
- PAC – Premature atrial contraction
- PAD – Peripheral artery disease
- PAF – Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation
See all 229 cardiology abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.