USE OF ABBREVIATIONS IN MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

PRESENTED BY: YASMIN BUTT

RULES FOR ABBREVIATIONS

ABBREVIATIONS ARE COMMONLY USED BY MEDICAL PERSONNEL TO SAVE TIME

ABBREVIATIONS SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSING AS IT CAN LEAD TO MISTAKES

ONLY APPROVED ABBREVIATIONS SHOULD BE USED

NEVER USE ONE’S OWN ABBREVIATIONS

ABBREVIATIONS PERTAINING TO THE SENSE ORGANS

LEFT EYE – THE ABBREVIATION IS ‘OS’ OS STANDS FOR OCULARIS SINISTER

WHICH IS LATIN FOR LEFT EYEBOTH EARS – ‘AU’ IS USED

STANDS FOR AURIS UNITAS, LATIN FOR BOTH EARS

EAR NOSE THROAT – ABBREVIATION IS ‘EENT’

STRUCTURE OF THE EAR

MORE ABBREVIATIONS RELATED TO THE EAR

BONE CONDUCTION – BC IT IS THE CONDUCTION OF SOUND TO THE INNER

EAR THROUGH THE BONESOF THE SKULL IT AMPLIFIES LOWER FREQUENCIES, MAKING

MOST PEOPLE THINK THEIR VOICES ARE LOWER PITCHED THAN THEY ACTUALLY ARE

PRESSURE EQUALIZING TUBE – PE Tube SMALL TUBE SURGICALLY PLACED IN A CHILD’S

EARDRUM TO ASSIST IN DRAINAGE OF TRAPPED FLUID AND TO EQUALIZE PRESSURE BETWEEN THE MIDDLE EAR CAVITY AND THE ATMOSPHERE

OTITIS MEDIA – OM MIDDLE EAR INFECTION COMMON IN CHILDREN

STRUCTURE OF THE EYE

MORE ABBREVIATIONS RELATED TO THE EYE

EMMETROPIA – IM MEANS STATE OF NORMAL VISION,

WHERE AN OBJECT AT INFINITY IS IN SHARP FOCUS WITH THE LENS OF THE EYE IN A RELAXED STATE

EXOTROPIA – XT OUTWARD TURNING OF THE EYE

DUE TO STRABISMUS ( MUSCLE WEAKENING)

MORE EYE RELATED ABBREVIATIONS

EXTROCULAR MOVEMENT - EOM THEY ARE USED DURING NEUROEXAM PATIENT IS ASKED TO LOOK IN ALL

DIRECTIONS WITHOUT MOVING THEIR HEAD AND ASKED IF THEY EXPERIENCE DOUBLE VISION

VISUAL ACUITY – VA IT IS A DIAGNOSTIC TEST TO MEASURE

THE SHARPNESS OF A PATIENT’S VISION FROM A DISTANCE OF 20 FEET