Abbreviations
In the laboratory
In vitro
Shorten a phrase by taking the first letter of each word
Acronyms
≈
Approximately equal to
mistaken as a number 1
ml (milliliter)
Named after Sir Charles Bell
Bell’s palsy
Hypertension
HTN
Twice daily
b.i.d.
Δ
Change
Mistaken as IM or IV
IN (intranasal)
Terms named after an individual which discovered the disease, syndrome, diagnosis, surgical procedure or surgery instrument
Medical Eponyms
Shorten a word into a few letters
Abbreviations
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
COPD
Used to represent a word
Symbols
Mistaken as IV or the number 10
IU, international unit
Named after Thomas Hodgkin
Hodgkin Disease
Nothing by mouth
NPO
Headache
HA
℞
Prescription
+, plus, or and
Mistaken as the number 4
Named after John Langdon Down
Down’s Syndrome
Nausea or vomiting
N/V
Intramuscular
IM
X
Start of anesthesia
@, at
Mistaken as the number 2
Named after Alois Alzheimer
Alzheimer’s