Ch.5 Letters/ Guidelines/ Abbreviations

“C” when followed by e, i, y sounds like

S

“Ch” sounds like

K

“g” when followed by e, i, y sounds like

J

“I” when used to create plural sounds like 

eye 

“Ph” sounds like

F

“Pn” sounds like

N

“Ps” sounds like 

S

“X” sounds like 

Z

if the term ends in “a” the plural is usually formed by adding an

e

if the term ends in “ex” or “ix” the plural is usually formed by changing the “ex” or “ix” to

ices

if the term ends in “is” the plural is usually formed by changing the “is” to

es

if the term ends in “itis” the plural is usually formed by changing the “is” to

ides

if the term ends in “nx” the plural is usually formed by changing the “x” to 

ges 

if the term ends in “on” the plural is usually formed by changing the “on” to

a

if the term ends in “um” the plural is usually formed by changing the “um” to

a

if the term ends in “us: the plural is usually formed by changing the "us” to 

i

ad lib

freely, at will, as necessary

a.c.

before a meal

ASAP

as soon as possible

b.i.d.

twice a day

BM

bowel movement

BP

blood pressure 

c

with

CDC

center of disease control and prevention

c/o

complains of

h

hour

P

pulse

p.c.

after meals

p.o.

by mouth

p.r.n.

as needed

q.h.

every hour

q.i.d. 

four times a day 

r

respiration

s

without

stat

immediately

t

temperature

H2O

water

HTN

hypertension

I&O

intake and output 

lab

laboratory

NPO

nothing by mouth

N&V

nausea and vomiting

O2

oxygen

p

after

t.i.d.

three times a day 

TPR

temperature, pulse, respiration 

Tx

traction or treatment

URI

upper respiratory infection

UTI

urinary tract infection

VS

vital signs

wt.

weight

x multiple times

IU

international unit

q.d.

everyday

q.o.d.

every other day

U

unit 

what are 4 examples of abbreviation to no be used

IU, q.d., q.o.d., U

why do we not use the abbreviation IU

write units, could be mistaken as IV intravenous or 10

why do we not use the abbreviation q.d.

write daily, the period after q or the tail of the q is mistaken for an I

why do we not use the abbreviation q.o.d.

write every other day, could be mistaken for q.d., q.i.d.

why do we not use the abbreviation U

write as unit, could be mistaken as the number 0 or 4