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Medical Terminology - Abbreviations

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On this page you will find common abbreviations used in general practice and their meanings.

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Contents:

Medical Terminology Pages
How to search these pages
Hospital & Trusts
People in the NHS
Administration
Common Blood Tests
Clinical Terms

Medical Terminology Pages

The Medical Terminology pages are searchable reference pages for medical abbreviations and medicines (both brand and generic names) commonly used in the NHS.

How to search these pages

Use keyboard keys Ctrl + F → a white box will appear in the upper right corner of the page.

Red circle → your search term. In this example, we searched hb.

Yellow circle → X/Y, where X is the search term result you are viewing and Y is the number of times it appears in the page. Here, searching hb gave us 4 hits and we are at the second one.

Green circle → click on these arrows to move up and down the page to find the other hits (you can also use the ‘enter’ key to move through the page).

When you type your search term in the box, all matches for the search term on the page will be highlighted in yellow and turn orange when you scroll to the next hit.

Happy hunting! 👀

Hospital & Trusts

Abbreviation	Full Name
GH	Guy’s Hospital
GSTT	Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
KCH	King’s College Hospital
LGT	Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust
QEH	Queen Elizabeth Hospital
SLAM	South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
ST	St. Thomas’ Hospital
UCLH	University College London Hospital
UHL	University Hospital Lewisham

People in the NHS

Abbreviation	Full Name
AHP	Allied Health Professional
AMHP	Approved Mental Health Practitioner
ANP	Advanced Nurse Practitioner
CD	Clinical Director
CMHN	Community Mental Health Nurse
CMHT	Community Mental Health Team
CPN	Community Psychiatric Nurse
DD	Duty Doctor
DN	District Nurse
FCP	First Contact Practitioner
HCA	Health Care Assistant
HCSW	Health Care Support Worker
HV	Health Visitor
IDVA	Independent Domestic Violence Advocate
MDT	Multi-disciplinary Team
OT	Occupational Therapist
PCMHT	Primary Care Mental Health Team
POD	Podiatrist
PT	Physiotherapist
RN	Registered Nurse
RNLD	Learning Disability Nurse
SpR	Specialist Registrar
SLT	Speech & Language Therapist
SW	Social Worker

Administration

Abbreviation	Full Name
ARRS	Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme
CAMHS	Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
CCG	Clinical Commissioning Group
CPD	Continuing Professional Development
CQC	Care Quality Commission
DPO	Data Protection Officer
GDPR	General Data Protection Regulations
IG	Information Governance
ICB	Integrated Care Board
ICS	Integrated Care Systems
LEAP	The Lived Experience Advisory Panel
LMC	Local Medical Committee
MAU/AAU	Medical/Acute Admissions Unit
NHAIS	National Health Application and Infrastructure Services
NHSE	National Health Service England
NICE	The National Institute of Health & Care Excellence
PALS	Patient Advice and Liaison Service
PCD	Personal Confidential Data
PLT	Protected Learning Time
PCN	Primary Care Network
QOF	Quality Outcome Framework

Common Blood Tests

Abbreviation	Full Name	Reason
CRP	C-reactive Protein	measure of inflammation or infection in the body
eGFR	Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate	measure of kidney function
ESR	Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate	a measure of the degree of inflammation in the body
FBC	Full Blood Count	tests kinds and numbers of cells in the blood: red cells, white cells, and platelets
FOBT	Faecal Occult Blood Test	checks for blood traces in faeces
FIT	Faecal Immunochemical Test	checks for blood traces in faeces
FPG or FBG	Fasting Plasma Glucose or Fasting Blood Glucose (aka. fasting blood sugar test )	measures levels of glucose (sugar) in blood
HbA1c	Haemoglobin A1c	tests average glucose levels in blood over the last 2-3 months
LFT	Liver Function Test	a combination of tests to detect liver disease
PSA	Prostate Specific Antigen	measures the amount of PSA in blood
PTT	Partial Thromboplastin Time	a measure of how quickly blood clots
TFT	Thyroid Function Test	a group of tests to check how the thyroid gland is working
U&E	Urea and Electrolytes	used for assessing kidney function/electrolyte balance

Clinical Terms

Male

Female

Abbreviation	Full Term
#	Fracture (broken bone)
-ve	Negative
+ve	Positive
2WW	Two-week wait
AAA	Abdominal aortic aneurysm
A&G	Advice and guidance
ABX (or Abx)	Antibiotics
ACE	Angiotensin converting enzyme
ACS	Acute coronary syndrome
AD	Aortic dissection
AF	Atrial fibrillation
ADHD	Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
ALL	Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
AP (on CXR)	Anteroposterior (on chest X-ray)
ASD	Autistic spectrum disorder
ASQ	Ages and stages questionnaire
AVr	aortic valve repair
AVR	aortic valve replacement
b.d.s, bds, BDS	2 times a day
bDMARD	Biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug
BCSP	Bowel cancer screening programme
BMI	Body mass index
BP	Blood pressure
BT	Blood test
cDMARD	Conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug
Ca	Cancer
Ca++ (or Ca2+)	Calcium
CABG	Coronary artery bypass graft
CAP	Community acquired pneumonia
CBT	Cognitive behavioural therapy
CD	Controlled drug
CES	cauda equina syndrome
CF	Cystic fibrosis
CFS	chronic fatigue syndrome
CHD	Coronary heart disease
CHF	Congestive heart failure
CKD	Chronic kidney disease
CLL	chronic lymphocytic leukemia
COPD	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
CRE	Carbapenem resistant enterococcus
CSF	Cerebrospinal fluid
CT scan	Computed tomography scan
CTR	Care and treatment review
CVA	Cerebrovascular accident (aka., a stroke)
CVL	Central venous line
CVP	Central venous pressure
Cx	Cervix
CXR	Chest X-ray
CYP	Children and young people
DBT	Dialectical behavioural therapy
DM	Diabetes Mellitus (can also stand for diabetic review)
DMARD	Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug
DNA	Did not attend
DNR/DNAR	Do not resuscitate/do not attempt to resuscitate
DS	Discharge summary
DVT	Deep vein thrombosis
Dx	Diagnosis
ECG	Electrocardiogram (a test that records the electrical activity of the heart)
ED	Emergency Department
EEG	Electroencephalogram (a test that records brain activity)
EIS	Early intervention service
ENT	Ear, nose & throat (often used to refer to a doctor who treats these areas, too)
EPS	Electronic prescription service
EUPD	Emotionally unstable personality disorder (aka borderline personality disorder)
FY1, FY2	Foundation doctor
F/u	Follow-up
gtt	drop(s)
GA	General anaesthetic
GDM	Gestational diabetes mellitus
GHC	General health check
GMS1	Paper patient registration form
GORD	Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease
HAP	Hospital acquired pneumonia
Hb	haemoglobin
Hib	Haemophilus influenzae type b
HBV (social)	Honour-based violence
HBV (medical)	Hepatitis B virus
HCV	Hepatitis C virus
HDL	High-density lipoprotein
HF	Heart failure
HNA	Health needs assessment
H Pylori	Helicobacter Pylori (bacteria)
HPV	Human papillomavirus
HRT	Hormone replacement therapy
HTN	Hypertension
Hx, h/o	History, history of
i; ii; iii	1 tablet; 2 tablet; 3 tablets (respectively)
i.m., IM	intramuscular (injected into a muscle)
i.v., IV	intravenous (injected directly into a vein)
IBD	Inflammatory bowel disease
IBS	Irritable bowel syndrome
ICH	Intracranial haemorrhage
IDA	Iron deficiency anaemia
IHD	Ischaemic heart disease
Imms	Immunisations
INR	International normalised ratio (a measure of how long blood takes to clot)
IVI	Intravenous infusion
Ix	Investigation
LA	Local anaesthetic
LDL	Low-density lipoprotein
LMP	Last menstrual period
LMWH	Low molecular weight heparins
LRTI	Lower respiratory tract infection
LTC	Long term condition
LVF	Left ventricular failure
M/R	Modified release
MatB1	Maternity Certificate
Men B	Meningococcal group B bacteria
Men C	Meningococcal group C bacteria
Men ACWY	Meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y
MART	Maintenance and reliever therapy
MED 3	Medical Certificate (aka., Fit Note)
MGUS	monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance
MH	Mental health
MI	Myocardial infarction (aka. heart attack - the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked, usually by a blood clot)
MM	Multiple myeloma
MMR	Measles, mumps and rubella
MRI	Magnetic resonance imaging
MRSA	Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
MS	Multiple sclerosis
MSK	Musculoskeletal
MSU	Mid-stream urine sample
MVr	Mitral valve repair
MVR	Mitral valve replacement
n.p.o, npo, NPO	nothing by mouth / not by oral administration
nocte	every night
NAAT	Nucleic acid amplification test
NAD	Nothing abnormal discovered
NAI	Non-accidental injury
NAFLD	non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
NASH	non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
NBI	No bone injury
NBM	Nil by mouth
NG	Nasogastric (running between nose and stomach)
NKDA	No known drug allergies
NoF	Neck of femur
NPHC	New patient health check
NSAID	Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
NWB	non-weight bearing
o.d., od, OD	once a day
o/e	on examination
OA	Osteoarthritis
OCD	Obsessive compulsive disorder
OG	Orogastric
OSA	Obstructive sleep apnea
p.c.	after food
p/c	presenting complaint
p.o., po, PO	orally/by mouth
p.r., pr, PR	rectally
p.r.n, prn, PRN	as needed
PA (on CXR)	Posteroanterior (on chest X-ray)
PD	Parkinson’s disease
PE	Pulmonary embolism (a blood vessel in the lungs is blocked by a blood clot)
PEG	Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy
PICC	Peripherally inserted central catheter
PID	Pelvic inflammatory disease
PMH	Previous medical history
POP	Plaster of Paris
PTSD	Post-traumatic stress disorder
PTX	Pneumothorax
PU	Passed urine
q.	every
q.1.d., q1d; q.d., qd	every day/daily
q.1.h., q1h; q.h., qh	every hour/hourly
q.2.h., q2h; q.4.h., q4h; q.6.h., q6h; q.8.h., q8h	every 2 hours every 4 hours every 6 hours every 8 hours
q.i.d., qid, q.d.s., qds, QDS	4 times a day
q.o.d., QOD	every other day / alternate days
q.s., qs	a sufficient quantity/enough
RA	Rheumatoid arthritis
RSV	Respiratory syncytial virus
RTA	Road traffic accident
Rx	Treatment
s.c., SC	Sub-cutaneous (under the skin) injection
stat.	immediately; now; with no delay
S/R	Sustained release
SAH	Subarachnoid haemorrhage
SIDS	Sudden infant death syndrome
SMI	Serious/severe mental illness
SOB (OE)	Shortness of breath (on exertion)
ST	Smear test
STEMI	ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction
STI	Sexually transmitted infection
SUDI	Sudden unexpected death in infancy
Sx	Symptom
t.d.s., tds, TDS, t.i.d., tid	3 times a day
Td/IPV	Tetanus, diphtheria and inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine
TB	Tuberculosis (bacteria)
TCI	To come in
THR	Total hip replacement
TIA	Transient ischaemic attack (aka., mini stroke - a temporary disruption in the blood supply to part of the brain)
TKJR	Total knee joint replacement
TOP	Termination of pregnancy
TPN	Total parenteral nutrition
TPR	Temperature, pulse and respiration
TSH	Thyroid stimulating hormone
TTA	To take away
TTO	To take out
TURP	Trans urethral resection of prostate
u.d., ud	as directed
UC	Ulcerative colitis
UCC	Urgent care centre
URTI	Upper respiratory tract infection
USS	Ultrasound scan
UTI	Urinary tract infection
VE	Vaginal examination
VLDL	Very-low density lipoprotein
VP shunt	ventriculoperitoneal shunt
VRE	Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus
VTE	Venous thromboembolism (a blood clot that forms in a vein)
Wt	Weight
WB	Weight bearing
WNB	Was not brought

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Resources:

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