Browse Medical Abbreviations
D
| d | date; right; day; density |
| D | deceased; dose; distal; diopter |
| D Bili | direct bilirubin |
| D&A | drug and alcohol |
| D&C | dilation and curettage |
| D&D | dehydration and diarrhea |
| D&E | dilation and evacuation |
| D&O | diagnostic and observation |
| D&V | diarrhea and vomiting |
| D-Bili | direct bilirubin |
| D-Pen | d-penicillamine |
| D/A | date of admission |
| D/B | date of birth |
| D/C | discharge; discontinue |
| D/NS | dextrose in normal saline |
| d/t | due/to |
| d/w | discussed with |
| d4t | stavudine |
| D5NS | 5% dextrose in normal saline |
| D5W | 5% dextrose in water |
| DA | developmental age; dopamine |
| DAD | diffuse alveolar damage |
| DAH | diffuse alveolar hemorrhage; disordered action of the heart |
| DAI | diffuse axonal injury |
| DALY | disability-adjusted life year |
| DAPE | data, assessment, plan, evaluation |
| DAPT | dual antiplatelet therapy |
| DARE | data, action, response, education; Drug & Alcohol Resistance Education |
| DAS | Disease Activity Score |
| DASE | Denver Articulation Screening Examination |
| DASH | dietary approaches to stop hypertension (meal plan) |
| DAT | diet as tolerated |
| dau | daughter |
| DAW | dispense as written |
| dB | decibel (measurement of sound volume) |
| DB | double-blind |
| DB&C | deep breathing and coughing |
| dBP | diastolic blood pressure |
| DBS | dorsal blocking splint; deep brain stimulation |
| DBT | dialectal behavioral therapy; digital breast tomosynthesis |
| DC | discharge; direct current; Doctor of Chiropractic; discontinue |
| DCAP-BTLS | deformity, contusions, abrasions, punctures/penetrations, burns, tenderness, lacerations, swelling |
| DCC | direct current cardioversion |
| DCCV | direct current cardioversion |
| DCIS | ductal carcinoma in situ |
| DCM | dilated cardiomyopathy |
| dcSSc | diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis |
| DCT | distal convoluted tubule |
| DD | delivery date; developmental disability; differential diagnosis; dry dressing |
| DDAVP | desmopressin acetate |
| ddC | zalcitabine |
| DDD | defined daily dose |
| DDH | developmental dysplasia of the hip |
| ddI | didanosine |
| dDNA | denatured DNA |
| DDS | Doctor of Dental Surgery |
| DDST | Denver Developmental Screening Test |
| DDx | differential diagnosis |
| DEA | Drug Enforcement Administration |
| dec | deceased |
| dec'd | deceased |
| DECA | Devereux Early Childhood Assessment |
| decr | decrease(d) |
| decub | decubitus (lying down) |
| def | deficiency |
| defib | defibrillation |
| deg | degree |
| del | delivery, delivered |
| dep | dependent |
| dept | department |
| deriv | derive, derivative |
| Derm | dermatology |
| DES | diethylstilbestrol; drug eluting stent |
| desc | descent, descending |
| det. | let it be given (detur) |
| dev | develop(ment) |
| DEXA | dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry |
| DF | dorsiflexion |
| DFA | direct fluorescent antibody; direct fluorescence assay |
| DFR | dialysate flow rate |
| DFS | disease-free survival; doppler flow studies |
| DFSP | dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans |
| DFV | doppler flow velocimetry |
| DG | dorsal gluteal |
| dg | decigram (one tenth of a gram) |
| dgm | decigram (one tenth of a gram) |
| DH | dermatitis herpetiformis; drug history; Dental Hygienist |
| DHA | Docosahexaenoic acid |
| DHEA | dehydroepiandrosterone |
| DHEAS | dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate |
| DHS | dynamic hip screw |
| DHT | dihydrotestosterone |
| DHx | drug history |
| DI | diabetes insipidus |
| diab | diabetes |
| diag | diagnosis |
| diagm | diagram |
| diam | diameter |
| DIB | difficulty in breathing |
| DIC | disseminated intravascular coagulation |
| DID | dissociative identity disorder |
| dieb. alt. | every other day (L. diebus alternis) |
| DIF | direct immunofluorescence |
| dif | differential blood count |
| DIFA | automated differential |
| Diff | differential |
| Dig | digitalis |
| dig | digoxin |
| dil | dilation; dilatation |
| dil. | dilute(d) |
| DILS | diffuse infiltrative lymphocytosis syndrome |
| dim | dimension |
| dim. | halved |
| DIND | delayed ischemic neurological deficit |
| DIP | distal interphalangeal (joint); desquamative interstitial pneumonia |
| DIP joint | distal interphalangeal joint |
| diph | diphtheria |
| DIPJ | distal interphalangeal joint |
| dir | direction; director; direct |
| DIRA | deficiency of the interleukin-1-receptor |
| dis | disabled; discontinue; disease; discussed |
| disc | discontinue |
| disch | discharge |
| DISCUS | dyskinesia identification system condensed user scale |
| DISH | diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis |
| DISIDA | diisopropyl iminodiacetic acid (cholescintigraphy) |
| disloc | dislocate, dislocation |
| disp | dispense |
| dissd | dissolved |
| dissem | disseminated |
| dist | distribute; distal |
| div | divide, division |
| DJD | degenerative joint disease |
| DKA | diabetic ketoacidosis |
| dkm | decameter |
| dL | deciliter (100 ml) |
| DL | direct laryngoscopy |
| DL-PICC | double lumen peripherally inserted central catheter |
| DLE | discoid lupus erythematosus |
| DLH | double lumen hickman |
| DLS | dynamic lumbar stabilization |
| DLSO | distal lateral subungual onychomycosis |
| DLV | delavirdine (antiviral drug) |
| DLVC | double lumen vascular catheter |
| dm | decimeter (100 mm, 0.1 m) |
| DM | dermatomyositis; dextromethorphan; diabetes mellitus |
| DMAC | disseminated mycobacterium avium complex |
| DMARD | disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug |
| DMAT | disaster medical assistance team |
| DMD | Duchenne's muscular dystrophy; Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry |
| DME | durable medical equipment |
| DMEM | Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium |
| DMI | diaphragmatic myocardial infarction |
| DML | distal motor latency |
| DMPA | depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate |
| DMR | differentially methylated region |
| DMSA | 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid; dimercaptosuccinic acid |
| DMSO | dimethylsulfoxide |
| DN | dibucaine number |
| DNA | deoxyribonucleic acid; does not apply |
| DNAR | do not attempt resuscitation |
| DNH | do not hospitalize |
| DNI | do not intubate |
| DNKA | did not keep appointment |
| DNP | do not publish |
| DNR | do not resuscitate |
| DNS | deviated nasal septum |
| DNT | did not test |
| DO | director of operations; doctor's orders; Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine |
| DOA | date of admission; dead on arrival; duration of action |
| DOB | date of birth |
| DOC | deoxycorticosterone; drug of choice |
| DOD | date of death |
| DOE | design of experiment; dyspnea on exertion; date of exam |
| DOH | department of health |
| DOI | date of injury; digital object identifier; diffuse optical imaging |
| DOL | department of labor |
| dom | dominant |
| DOMS | delayed onset muscle soreness |
| DON | director of nursing |
| DOPT | directly observed preventative therapy |
| DORV | double-outlet right ventricle |
| dos | dose, dosage |
| DOS | date of service |
| DOT | directly observed therapy; diffuse optical tomography |
| DOTS | directly observed treatment, short course |
| DP | dorsalis pedis; Doctor of Podiatry; distal pulses; dorsalis pedis artery |
| DPA | dual-photon absorptiometry |
| DPAP | diastolic pulmonary artery pressure |
| DPat | diphtheria-acellular pertussis tetanus (vaccine) |
| DPGN | diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis |
| DPH | Doctor of Public Health; Department of Public Health |
| DPI | dry powder inhaler |
| DPL | diagnostic peritoneal lavage |
| DPM | Doctor of Podiatric Medicine |
| DPPC | dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine |
| DPT | diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (vaccine) |
| DQ | developmental quotient |
| DR | diagnostic radiography; delivery room; delayed release (medication) |
| dr. | dram |
| Dr. | doctor |
| DRD | dopa-responsive dystonia |
| DRE | digital rectal examination |
| DRESS | drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms |
| DRF | drip rate factor |
| DRG | diagnosis-related group |
| DRI | daily/dietary reference intake; Dietary Reference Intake |
| DRVVT | dilute Russell viper venom time |
| DS | drug substance; degenerative spondylolisthesis; Down's syndrome |
| DSA | digital subtraction angiography |
| DSBR | double-strand break repair |
| DSC | Doctor of Surgical Chiropody |
| dsDNA | double-stranded DNA |
| DSM | Diagnostic and Statistical Manual |
| DSM-IV | Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition |
| DSM-V | Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition |
| DSMB | data and safety monitoring board |
| DSPS | delayed sleep phase syndrome; diagnostic, screening and preventive services |
| DST | dexamethasone suppression test; decision support tool |
| DSW | Doctor of Social Work |
| DT | delirium tremens; diphtheria and tetanus toxoids |
| DTAD | drain tube attachment device |
| DTaP | diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis |
| DTH | delayed-type hypersensitivity |
| DTIC | dacarbazine |
| DTP | diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (vaccine); direct-to-patient; developmental therapeutics program |
| DTR | Dietetic Technician, Registered; deep tendon reflex(es) |
| DTs | delirium tremens/tremors |
| DU | diagnosis undetermined; duodenal ulcer |
| DUB | dysfunctional uterine bleeding |
| DUE | drug usage evaluation |
| DUI | driving under the influence |
| dup | duplication, duplicate |
| DUR | drug utilization review |
| DV | double vision; domestic violence; daily value (nutrition) |
| DV/SA | domestic violence/sexual assault |
| DVD | digital video disc; developmental verbal dyspraxia |
| DVI | deep venous insufficiency |
| DVM | Doctor of Veterinary Medicine |
| DVR | division of vocational rehabilitation |
| DVT | deep vein thrombosis |
| DW | distilled water |
| DW-MRI | diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging |
| DWI | diffusion-weighted imaging; driving while intoxicated |
| DWM | Dandy Walker malformation |
| DWV | Dandy-Walker variant |
| Dx | diagnosis |
| DXA | dual x-ray absorptiometry |
| DXM | dextromethorphan |
| DXR | digital X-ray radiogrammetry |
| DXT | radiotherapy |
| Dy | dysprosium [element] |
| Dz | disease |
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.