Medical Terminology, Abbreviations, and Joint Commission Rules

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering common medical abbreviations, word roots, prefixes, suffixes, and The Joint Commission 'Do Not Use' list.

Ac

before meals

ad lib

as desired

bid, b.i.d., BID

twice a day (bis in die)

c

with

c/o

complaint of

D&C

dilation (dilatation) and curettage

Grav I, II, etc.

pregnancy one, two, etc. (gravida)

HS

Bedtime (hour of sleep)

NPO, npo

nothing by mouth (non per os)

pc

after meals

PRN, p.r.n.

as required (pro re nata); as needed

qid

four times a day

s

without

stat

immediately (statim)

TBL, tbsp, T

tablespoon (use metric, $15\,mL$)

tid

three times a day

tsp, t

teaspoon (use metric, $5\,mL$)

aden/o

gland

adip/o, lip/o, steat/o

fat

angi/o, vas/o

vessel

arthr/o

joint

carcin/o

cancer

cirrh/o, jaund/o, xanth/o

yellow

colp/o

vagina

enter/o

intestines

gloss/o

tongue

hyster/o, metr/o

uterus

myring/o

eardrum

nephr/o

kidney

oophor/o, ovari/o

ovary

orchid/o

testicle

phleb/o

vein

pyel/o

pelvis

salping/o

tube

ambi-

both

brady-

slow

dys-

abnormal, difficult, painful

eu-

normal, good, true

juxta-

near

oligo-

little

tachy-

fast

-algia, dynia

pain

-centesis

puncture of a cavity

-desis

binding, fixation

-ectasis

expansion, dilation

-malacia

softening

-pexy

surgical fixation

-phagia

eating, ingestion

-phasia

speech

-poiesis

growth, formation

-rrhaphy

surgical repair

-tripsy

crushing

U, u (unit) [Do Not Use]

Potential Problem: Mistaken for "0" (zero), the number "4" (four), or "cc". Use Instead: Write "unit"

IU (International unit) [Do Not Use]

Potential Problem: Mistaken for IV (intravenous) or the number 10 (ten). Use Instead: Write "International unit"

Q.D., QD, q.d., qd (daily) [Do Not Use]

Potential Problem: Mistaken for Q.O.D. Period after the Q mistaken for "I" and the "O" mistaken for "I". Use Instead: Write "daily"

Trailing zero (X.0 mg) [Do Not Use]

Potential Problem: Decimal point is missed. Use Instead: Write X mg

MS, MSO4, MgSO4 [Do Not Use]

Potential Problem: Can mean morphine sulfate or magnesium sulfate. Confused for one another. Use Instead: Write "morphine sulfate" or "magnesium sulfate"