Medical Terminology

T

Temperature

P

Pulse

HR

Heart Rate

R

Respirations

BP

Blood Pressure

O2/SPO2

Oxygen Saturation

#/#

Pain Scale 0-10

ABX

Antibiotics

CXR

Chest X Ray

DX

Diagnosis (medical diagnosis)

HX

History

NDX

Nursing Diagnosis

RX

Treatment or Prescription

SX

Surgery

TX

Treatment

AC

Antecubital (vein inside bend of elbow)

ACHS (AC/HS)

Before meals / before sleep

ADL

activities of daily living

ABC

Airway, Breathing, Circulation

ALOC

Altered Level of Consciousness

BM

Bowel Movement

CBC

Complete Blood Count

WBC

White Blood Cells

RBC

Red Blood Cells

H&H

Hemoglobin & Hematocrit

Hct

Hematocrit

Plt

Platelets

BG

Blood Glucose

UA

Urinalysis

C&S

Culture and Sensitivity

Q or q

every

Q daily or q daily

Every Day

q2h

every two hours

q8h

every 8 hours

bid or b.id.

twice daily/ two times daily

tid or t.i.d.

three times daily

qid or q.i.d.

four times daily

ac

before meals/ on an empty stomach

hs

before sleeping/ at bedtime

PO

by mouth or orally (per os)

GT

by gastronomy tube (G-tube)

IM

Intramuscular (injection into muscle)

SQ

Subcutaneous (injection into adipose tissue/fat)

IV

Intravenous (infusion directly into the vein)

IVP

Intravenous Push (inject directly into vein)

IVPB

Intravenous Piggyback

IVF

Intravenous Fluids (usually hydration or nutrition)

Prefix

comes before rood word and gives meaning to root

Root

• foundation of word or term

• often refers to disease or body part

• tells us what word is about

suffix

• comes at the end of the word after the root

• term describes what is going on with the word

Hypo

Deficient (too little)

Hyper

Excessive (too much)

Pre

Before

Ante

Before

Post

after

Tachy

Rapid (faster than normal)

Brady

Slow (slower than normal)

A

Absent (without)

Dys

Abnormal or Painful (unable/painful to do something)

Macro

Large

Micro

Small

Mal

Bad (not working correctly)

Trans

Across or through

Hemi

Half (one half of something)

Bi

Two

Tri

three

Quad

Four (quadrant)

Poly

Many

-itis

inflammation of

-ism, -osis

condition of (diseases of )

-ous, -ic, -ac

pertaining to (about)

-ectomy

exision (surgical removal)

-plasty

surgical repair

-otomy

cut into

-scopy

to look at with a scope

-ology

the study of

-logist

practioner of

-pathy

disease or disorder

-pelgia

paralysis

ATHR

joint (skeletal system)

BRONCH

bronchus (part of the respiratory system)

CARD

heart (cardiovascular system)

DERMA

skin (integumentary system)

ENCEPHAL

brain (neurological system )

ENTER

intestine (gastrological system)

GASTR

stomach (gastrological system)

GLYS

sugar (glycemic)

HEMAT, HEMO, HEME

blood

HEPAT, HEPATIC

liver (gi system)

MY

muscular system

MYEL

spinal cord (nervous system)

NECR, NECRO

dead, death of cells/ body (integumentary system)

NEPHR, NEPHRO

kidneys (urinary tract and endocrine system

NEUR, NEURO

nerves (nervous system)

OSTE

bone (skeletal system)

OX

oxygen (respiratory system)

OXY

oxygen (cardiac, cardiovascular system)

PECTOR

chest (respiratory sysytem, cardiac, cardiovascular sytem)

PHLEB

vein (cardiovascular system)

PNEUM

air, lung (respiratory system)