Browse Medical Abbreviations
B
| B | boron [element]; bacillus; black |
| b | both; twice; born; bicuspid; bilateral; buccal |
| B&C | board and care (home) |
| B-Med | behavioral medicine |
| b.i.d. | twice a day |
| B/O | because of |
| B0 | riboflavin |
| B1 | Thiamin |
| B4 | Pyridoxine |
| B7 | folic acid |
| Ba | barium [element] |
| BA | basilar artery |
| BAC | bronchoalveolar cells; blood alcohol concentration |
| bact | bacterial |
| BAE | bronchial artery embolization |
| BAEP | brainstem auditory evoked potential |
| BAER | brainstem auditory evoked response |
| BAHA | bone anchored hearing aid |
| BAL | British anti-Lewisite; bronchoalveolar lavage; blood alcohol level |
| bal | balance |
| BALF | bronchoalveolar lavage fluid |
| Band | banded neutrophil |
| BAPE | benign asbestos pleural effusion |
| barbs | barbiturates |
| BAS-G | Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Patient Global Score |
| BASDI | Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index |
| BASFI | Bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index |
| BASMI | Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index |
| Baso | basophil |
| BASRI | Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Radiology Index |
| BAV | bicuspid aortic valve |
| BAVM | brain arteriovenous malformation |
| BB | breakthrough bleeding |
| BBB | blood-brain barrier; bundle branch block |
| BBP | blood-borne pathogens |
| BBS | bilateral breath sounds |
| BBT | basal body temperature |
| BBW | black box warning |
| BC | breast cancer; best care; bone conduction; birth control; board certified |
| BCA | bichloroacetic acid |
| BCC | basal cell carcinoma |
| BCCP | breast and cervical cancer (treatment) program |
| BCCTP | breast and cervical cancer (treatment) program |
| BCE | basal cell epithelioma; bone collagen equivalents |
| BCG | Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (vaccine) |
| BCLS | basic cardiac life support |
| BCM | body cell mass; blue cone monochromatism |
| BCNSP | Board Certified Nutrition Support Pharmacist |
| BCOP | Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist |
| BCP | birth control pill |
| BCPP | Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist |
| BCPS | Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist |
| BD | Buerger disease; brain dead; birth date; behavioral disorder |
| BDD | body dysmorphic disorder |
| BDI | beck depression inventory; baseline dyspnea index |
| BDNF | brain-derived neurotrophic factor |
| BE | board-eligible; below elbow; base excess; Barrett esophagus; Barium enema |
| Be | beryllium [element] |
| BEA | below-the-elbow amputation |
| BEAM | brain electrical activity mapping |
| BED | binge eating disorder; Bornholm eye disease |
| BEE | basal energy expenditure |
| beg | begin, began, beginning |
| BEq | bioequivalence |
| bet | between |
| BF | boyfriend; breast feed |
| BFP | of a pregnancy test big fat positive; biological false-positive |
| BFR | blood flow rate |
| BG | blood glucose; basal ganglia |
| bGH | bovine growth hormone |
| BGM | blood glucose monitoring |
| BH | behavioral health |
| BHA | beta hydroxy acid |
| BHS | beta-hemolytic streptococci; breath-holding spell; behavioral health services |
| BHU | behavioral health unit |
| Bi | bisexuality; bismuth [element] |
| BI | brain injury |
| BIB | brought in by |
| bib. | drink |
| BIBA | brought in by ambulance |
| bicarb | (Sodium) bicarbonate |
| bid | twice a day (L. bis in die) |
| BIDS | bedtime insulin and daytime sulfonylureas |
| BIH | bilateral inguinal herniorrhaphy; bilateral inguinal hernia; benign intracranial hypertension |
| bil | bilateral |
| bilat | bilateral |
| bili | bilirubin |
| biol | biologic |
| BIOT | biotinidase deficiency |
| BiPAP | bilevel positive airway pressure |
| bisp. | bispinous diameter (interspinous diameter) |
| BK | below the knee |
| BKA | below knee amputation |
| Bl | blood |
| bl | bleeding |
| BL | bilateral |
| bl. | blood |
| bld | blood |
| BLE | bilateral lower extremities; both lower extremities |
| BLL | blood lead level |
| BLS | basic life support |
| BM | bone marrow; bowel movement; Bachelor of Medicine; body mechanics |
| BMA | bone marrow aspiration; British Medical Association |
| BMC | bone marrow cells; bone mineral content |
| BMD | bone mineral density; Becker muscular dystrophy |
| BME | biomedical engineering |
| BMI | body mass index |
| BMK | birthmark |
| BMP | bone morphogenetic protein; basic metabolic panel |
| BMPs | bone morphogenetic proteins |
| BMR | basal metabolic rate |
| BMS | bone marrow suppression; burning mouth syndrome; bare metal stent |
| BMT | bone marrow transplantation |
| BMU | Basic multicellular unit |
| BNF | British National Formulary |
| BNP | brain natriuretic peptide; B-type natriuretic peptide |
| BO | bowel obstruction; body odor |
| BOA | behavioral observation audiometry; born out of asepsis |
| BOCA | brown oculocutaneous albinism |
| BOH | board of health |
| bol. | single dose (relatively large) (L. bolus) |
| BOM | bilateral otitis media |
| BOS | bacterial overgrowth syndrome; base of support |
| BOT | base of tongue |
| bot | bottom; bottle |
| BP | bullous pemphigoid; blood pressure; base pair |
| BPA | bisphenol A |
| BPAD | bipolar affective disorder |
| BPD | bipolar disorder; bronchopulmonary dysplasia; biparietal diameter; borderline personality disorder |
| BPd | blood pressure, diastolic |
| BPH | hypertrophy; benign prostatic hyperplasia; benign prostatic hypertrophy |
| BPharm | Bachelor of Pharmacy |
| bpm | beats per minute |
| BPNH | bilateral periventricular nodular heterotopia |
| BPP | biophysical profile |
| BPPV | benign paroxysmal positional vertigo |
| BPRS | brief psychiatric rating scale |
| BPs | blood pressure, systolic |
| BPS | bilateral partial salpingectomy |
| BPV | benign positional vertigo |
| Br | bromine [element] |
| BR | bed rest |
| brady | bradycardia |
| BRAIDED | benefits, risks, alternatives, inquiries, decision, explanation, documentation |
| BRAT | bananas, rice, applesauce, toast (diet) |
| BRB | bright red blood |
| BRBPR | bright red blood per rectum |
| BRC | biomedical research center |
| BRM | biological response modifier |
| BROW | barley, rye, oats, and wheat |
| BRP | bathroom privileges |
| BRRS | Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome |
| BRU | biomedical research unit |
| BS | bowel sounds; bone surface; blood sugar; breath sounds |
| BS&O | bilateral salpingectomy and oophorectomy |
| BSA | body surface area; bovine serum albumin |
| BSB | breath sounds bilateral |
| BSC | biological safety cabinet; bedside commode |
| BSc | Bachelor of Science |
| BSE | bovine spongiform encephalopathy; breast self-examination |
| BSF | basal skull fracture |
| BSI | blood stream infection; body substance isolation; boundary shift integral |
| BSL | blood sugar level; biosafety level |
| BSLE | bullous systemic lupus erythematosus |
| BSN | Bachelor of Science in Nursing; bowel sounds normal |
| BSO | bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy; buthionine sulfoximine |
| BSOM | bilateral serous otitis media |
| BSS | balanced salt solution |
| BST | blood serological test; breast stimulation test |
| BSU | base service unit |
| Bt | Bacillus thuringiensis |
| BT | bioterrorism; bleeding time; brain tumor |
| BTB | breakthrough bleeding |
| BTBV | beat to beat variability |
| BTE | behind the ear (heading aids) |
| BTFS | breast tumor frozen section |
| BTL | bilateral tubal ligation |
| BTLS | basic trauma life support |
| BTP | bladder training program |
| BTW | by the way |
| btw. | between |
| BU | Burn Unit; Bethesda unit |
| BUA | broadband ultrasound attenuation |
| BUdR | bromodeoxyuridine |
| BUE | both upper extremities |
| BUM | back-up method |
| BUN | blood urea nitrogen |
| BUS | Bartholin's, Urethral, and Skene's glands |
| BV | bacterial vaginosis |
| BVAS | Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score |
| BVT | bilateral ventilation tube(s) |
| BW | birth weight; body weight |
| BWS | battered woman syndrome; Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome |
| Bx | biopsy |
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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.