Browse Medical Abbreviations
| A | |
|---|---|
| A | accommodation; before; assessment; artery; anterior; anode; ampere |
| a | not; before; anterior; anode |
| A&E | accident and emergency |
| A&O | alert and oriented |
| A&Ox3 | awake and oriented to person, place, and time |
| A&Ox4 | awake and oriented to person, place, time, and situation |
| A&P | auscultation and percussion; assessment and plan; anterior and posterior; anatomy and physiology |
| A&W | alive and well |
| A-A | atlanto-axial joint |
| A-G ratio | albumin/globulin ratio |
| A-R | apical radial (pulse) |
| A-T | baby teeth |
| A-VO2 | arteriovenous oxygen |
| a.c. | before meal (ante cibum) |
| a.p. | antepartum; anterior-posterior |
| A.T. | anterior tibial |
| A/C | assist/control |
| A/G | albumin/globulin ratio |
| A/O | alert and oriented |
| A/V | atrioventricular; arteriovenous; aortic valve |
| A1c | glycosylated hemoglobin |
| A2 | aortic second sound |
| aa | of each |
| AA | arteries; aortic aneurism; amino acid; alopecia areata; Alcoholics Anonymous; affected area; acute appendicitis; acetic acid |
| AA&O | awake, alert and oriented |
| AAA | abdominal aortic aneurysm |
| AAL | anterior axillary line |
| AAMI | age-associated memory impairment |
| AAO | awake, alert, and oriented |
| AAR | after action review/report |
| AAU | acute anterior uveitis |
| AB | antibody; active bilaterally; abdominal; abortion |
| Ab | antibody; abortion |
| ab | abortion; abdominal |
| Abb | abbreviated |
| ABC | automated blood count; absolute basophil count |
| ABCD2 | age, blood pressure, clinical findings, duration of symptoms, diabetes mellitus (stroke risk score) |
| ABCDE | airway, breathing, circulation, disability, expose, and examine |
| abd | abdominal; abduction; abdomen |
| ABG | arterial blood gas |
| ABI | ankle/brachial index |
| ABLA | acute blood loss anemia |
| abn | abnormal(ity) |
| ABP | acute bacterial prostatitis |
| ABR | auditory brain response |
| abs | antibodies; absent, absence |
| Abs | antibodies |
| ABW | actual body weight |
| abx | antibiotics |
| AC | adriamycin and cytoxan; acromioclavicular; adrenal cortex; axiocervical |
| ac | before meal (ante cibum) |
| ACA | Affordable Care Act; anticentromere antibodies |
| ACC | adenoid cystic carcinoma; aplasia cutis congenita |
| acc | according; accident |
| acc. | accommodation |
| ACDA | adult children of alcoholics |
| ACE | angiotensin-converting enzyme; adverse clinical event; all cotton elastic bandage |
| ACEI | angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor |
| ACh | acetylcholine |
| AChE | acetylcholinesterase |
| ACHES | abdominal pain, chest pain, headache, eye problems, and severe leg pains |
| AChR | acetylcholine receptor |
| ACL | anterior cruciate ligament |
| aCL | anticardiolipin antibodies |
| ACLS | advanced cardiac life support |
| ACO | accountable care organization |
| ACP | advanced clinical practice; advanced care plan; accountable care partnerships |
| ACS | American Cancer Society; ambulatory care-sensitive; accountable care systems; acute coronary syndrome |
| ACT | activated clotting time |
| act | activity |
| ACTH | adrenocorticotropic hormone |
| ACU | ambulatory care unit |
| ACV | assist control ventilation |
| ACVD | atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; acute cardiovascular disease |
| ad | up to; to |
| AD | advance directive; Alzheimer's disease; right ear (auris dextra); autosomal dominant |
| ad lib. | freely, as desired, at liberty (ad libitum) |
| ad sat. | to saturation |
| ADA | American Diabetes Association; adenosine deaminase |
| ADC | aids dementia complex; apparent diffusion coefficient |
| Add | adduction |
| ADD | attention deficit disorder |
| ADDH | attention-deficit disorder with hyperactivity |
| addl | additional |
| ADE | adverse drug event/experience |
| adeq | adequate |
| ADH | antidiuretic hormone |
| ADHD | attention deficit hyperactivity disorder |
| ADHF | acute diastolic heart failure |
| ADI | acceptable daily intake |
| ADL | activities of daily living |
| adm | admission; administer(ed) |
| ADME | absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion |
| admin | administration, administer |
| ADR | adverse drug reaction |
| ADT | anticipated discharge tomorrow; admission, discharge, transfer |
| adv | advise(d) |
| AE | acute exacerbation; above elbow; adverse events; arm ergometer; adverse event |
| AEA | above elbow amputation |
| AEB | as evidenced by |
| AEC | ambulatory emergency care |
| AED | automated external defibrillator (less commonly: antiepileptic drug) |
| AER | adverse event report; auditory evoked response |
| AF | atrial fibrillation; afebrile; anteflexed |
| AFB | acid fast bacilli |
| Afeb | afebrile |
| Afib | atrial fibrillation |
| AFO | ankle foot orthosis |
| AFP | alpha-fetoprotein |
| AFV | amniotic fluid volume |
| AFX | atypical fi broxanthoma |
| Ag | Silver (element); antigen |
| ag | antigen |
| AGA | appropriate/average for gestational age |
| AGC | atypical glandular cells (of undetermined significance) |
| AGE | acute gastroenteritis |
| AGEP | acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis |
| AgNO3 | silver nitrate |
| Ags | antigens |
| ags | antigens |
| AH | auditory hallucination |
| AHA | American Heart Association; American Hospital Association |
| AHF | antihemophilic factor |
| AHG | aggregated human IgG; antihuman globulin |
| AI | aortic insufficiency/incompetence; adequate intake |
| AICD | automatic implantable cardiac defibrillator |
| AIDS | acquired immunodeficiency syndrome |
| AIMS | abnormal involuntary movement scale; arthritis impact measurement scales |
| AK | actinic keratosis; above the knee |
| AKA | above the knee amputation |
| aka | also known as |
| AKI | acute kidney injury |
| AKN | acne keloidalis nuchae |
| Al | Aluminum (element) |
| ALA | aminolevulinic acid |
| Alb | albumin |
| ALC | acute lethal catatonia |
| alc | alcohol |
| ALD | alcoholic liver disease |
| ALFT | abnormal liver function test |
| ALL | acute lymphocytic/lymphoblastic leukemia |
| ALP | alkaline phosphatase |
| ALS | amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; advanced life support |
| ALT | alanine aminotransferase (formerly SGPT); alanine transaminase |
| alt | alternate |
| alt. dieb. | every other day (alternis diebus) |
| alt. hor. | alternate hours (alternis horis) |
| alt. noct. | alternate nights (alternis noctes) |
| AM | morning, before noon (ante meridiem) |
| am | morning, before noon (ante meridiem) |
| AMA | American Medical Association; against medical advice; antimitochondrial antibodies |
| amb | ambulate/ambulatory |
| AME | absorption, metabolism, excretion |
| AMI | acute myocardial infarction |
| AML | acute myelogenous (myeloblastic) leukemia |
| AMLS | advanced medical life support |
| AMML | acute myelomonocytic leukemia |
| amnio | amniocentesis; amniotic |
| amp | amputation; ampule |
| AMR | antimicrobial resistance |
| AMS | altered mental status; aseptic meningitis syndrome |
| AMSIT | appearance, mood, sensorium, intelligence, thought process |
| amt | amount |
| AMU | acute medical unit |
| AN | acanthosis nigricans |
| ANA | antinuclear antibody; antinuclear antigen |
| anast. | anastomosis |
| anat | anatomy or anatomic |
| ANC | absolute neutrophil count |
| ANCA | antineutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody |
| ANCOVA | analysis of covariance |
| AND | allow natural death |
| ANF | atrial natriuretic factor |
| ANLL | acute nonlymphocytic leukemia |
| ANP | advanced nurse practitioner; alkaline phosphatase; atrial natriuretic peptide; adult nurse practitioner |
| ANS | autonomic nervous system |
| ant. | anterior |
| anti-CCP | anticyclic citrullinated peptide |
| anti-GBM | anti-glomerular basement membrane |
| Anti-HAV | Hepatitis A antibody |
| Anti-HBc | Hepatitis B antibodies to the core antigen |
| Anti-HBe | Hepatitis B antibody (antibody to HBeAg) |
| Anti-HBs | Hepatitis B antibodies to the surface antigen |
| Anti-HCV | Hepatitis C Virus Antibodies |
| AO | aorta |
| Ao. | aorta |
| AOB | alcohol on breath |
| AODM | adult onset diabetes mellitus |
| AOM | acute otitis media |
| ap | before dinner |
| AP | appendectomy; apical pulse; anteroposterior; antepartum; alkaline phosphatase |
| Ap | apex/apical |
| AP D | anteroposterior diameter |
| APACHE | Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation |
| APAP | N-acetyl-para-aminophenol (paracetamol, acetaminophen) |
| APC | aspirin/caffeine; atrial premature contraction; admitted patient care |
| APD | automated peritoneal dialysis |
| APE | acute psychotic episode |
| API | active pharmaceutical ingredient |
| APL | IgA phospholipid unit; abductor pollicis longus |
| aPL | antiphospholipid antibodies |
| APMS | alternative provider medical services |
| APN | Advanced Practice Nurse |
| appar | apparent |
| APPG | aqueous procaine penicillin-g |
| approx | approximately |
| appt | appointment |
| aPPT | activated partial thromboplastin time |
| APRN | Advanced Practice Registered Nurse |
| APRV | airway pressure release ventilation |
| APS | antiphospholipid syndrome |
| APSGN | acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis |
| APT | anatomical pathology technologist |
| aPTT | activated partial thromboplastin time |
| aq | water (aqua) |
| AR | autosomal recessive; allergic rhinitis; aortic regurgitation |
| Ar | Argon (element) |
| ARB | angiotensin-ii receptor blocker |
| ARBD | alcohol-related birth defects |
| ARC | Acid-resistant cells; American Red Cross; AIDS-related complex |
| ARD | acute respiratory disease |
| ARDD | alcohol-related developmental disability |
| ARDS | acute respiratory distress syndrome |
| ARF | acute renal failure |
| ARG | argininemia |
| ARMD | age-related macular degeneration |
| ARND | alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder |
| ARNP | Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner |
| AROM | artificial rupture of membranes; active range of motion |
| ARRP | anatomic retropubic radical prostatectomy |
| ARRT | adult rapid response team |
| ARS | acute radiation syndrome; anti-rabies serum |
| ART | antiretroviral therapy; artery; assisted reproductive therapy; accredited record technician |
| art. | arterial; artery |
| ARV | antiretroviral |
| AS | ankylosing spondylitis; aortic stenosis; arteriosclerosis; left ear (auris sinistra) |
| As | Arsenic (element) |
| as tol | as tolerated |
| As. | astigmatism |
| ASA | acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) |
| ASAP | as soon as possible |
| ASC | atypical squamous cells |
| ASC-US | atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance |
| asc. | ascending |
| ASCA | anti-saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody |
| ASCVD | atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease |
| ASD | autism spectrum disorders; atrial septal defect |
| AsH | hypermetropic astigmatism |
| ASHD | arteriosclerotic heart disease |
| ASHF | acute systolic heart failure |
| AsM | myopic astigmatism |
| ASO | antistreptolysin-o titer |
| AST | aspartate aminotransferase (formerly SGOT) |
| Ast | astigmatism |
| ASU | ambulatory surgery unit |
| at. wt. | atomic weight |
| ATF | alcohol, tobacco, and firearms |
| ATG | antithymocyte globulin |
| ATLS | advanced trauma life support |
| ATN | acute tubular necrosis |
| ATOD | alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs |
| ATP | adenosine triphosphate |
| atr | atrophy |
| AU | angstron (angstrom) unit; arbitrary unit; each ear (auris uterque), both ears |
| Au | Gold (element) |
| AUC | area under the curve |
| aud | auditory |
| AUG | oxytocin challenge test |
| ausc | auscultation |
| aux | auxiliary |
| AV | arteriovenous; atrioventricular; aortic valve |
| AV (node) | atrioventricular (node) |
| AV Block | atrioventricular block |
| AV valves | atrioventricular valves |
| av. | avoirdupois |
| AVB | atrioventricular block |
| AVD | atrioventricular dissociation |
| AVI | automatic volume infusion pump |
| AVM | arteriovenous malformation |
| AVN | avascular necrosis |
| AVP | arginine vasopressin |
| AVPU | alert, verbal, pain response, unresponsive |
| AVR | aortic valve repair; aortic valve replacement |
| AVSS | afebrile, vital signs stable |
| AWC | adequate and well-controlled |
| AWMI | anterior wall myocardial infarction |
| AWOL | absent without (official) leave |
| ax | axillary |
| AXT | alternating exotropia |
| AZA | azathioprine |
Return to: Medical Abbreviations & Acronyms
This content should not be used in place of medically-reviewed decision support reference material or professional medical advice. Abbreviations vary by context and institution. Many abbreviations have alternate or newer meanings not reflected in this set. The abbreviations on this page should not be considered complete.