List of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions[3]
Abbreviation Latin Meaning Possible confusion
aa ana of each AAA apply to affected area a.c. ante cibum before meals "a" can be mistaken as an "o" which a.d. auris dextra right ear could read "o.d.", meaning right eye use as much as one ad lib. ad libitum desires; freely admov. admove apply agit agita stir/shake alt. h. alternis horis every other hour ad manu a.m.m. at doctors hand medicae a.m. ante meridiem morning, before noon amp ampule amt amount aq aqua water "a" can be mistaken as an "o" which auris laeva, a.l., a.s. left ear could read "o.s." or "o.l", meaning left auris sinistra eye A.T.C. around the clock "a" can be mistaken as an "o" which a.u. auris utraque both ears could read "o.u.", meaning both eyes bis bis twice b.d./b.i.d. bis in die twice daily B.M. bowel movement British National BNF Formulary as a large single dose bol. bolus (usually intravenously) B.S. blood sugar B.S.A body surface areas mistaken for "b.i.d", meaning twice b.t. bedtime daily BUCC bucca inside cheek cap., caps. capsula capsule with (usually written c, c. cum with a bar on top of the "c") cib. cibus food mistaken for "U", meaning units; also with food, (but also cc cum cibo has an ambiguous meaning; use "mL" cubic centimetre) or "milliliters" cf with food comp. compound cr., crm cream Continue same CST treatment ambiguous meaning, write out "days" D or d days or doses or "doses" dextrose 5% solution D5W (sometimes written as D5W) dextrose 5% in D5NS normal saline (0.9%) dispense as written D.A.W. (i.e., no generic substitution) discontinue or dc, D/C, disc ambiguous meaning discharge dieb. alt. diebus alternis every other day dil. dilute dispersible or disp. dispense div. divide dL deciliter dentur tales d.t.d. give of such doses doses can easily be confused with "diluted tincture of opium," which is 1/25th the deodorized tincture of DTO strength of deodorized tincture of opium opium; deaths have resulted due to massive morphine overdose D.W. distilled water elix. elixir e.m.p. ex modo as directed prescripto emuls. emulsum emulsion et et and eod every other day ex aq ex aqua in water fl., fld. fluid ft. fiat make; let it be made g gram gr grain gtt(s) gutta(e) drop(s) H hypodermic h, hr hora hour h.s. hora somni at bedtime hour sleep or half- h.s ambiguous meaning strength ID intradermal mistaken for "IV", meaning IJ, inj injectio injection intravenously intramuscular (with IM respect to injections) mistaken for "IM", meaning IN intranasal intramuscular, or "IV", meaning intravenously IP intraperitoneal mistaken for "IV" or "10", spell out IU international unit "international unit" IV intravenous IVP intravenous push intravenous IVPB piggyback kg kilogram L.A.S. label as such LCD coal tar solution lin linimentum liniment liq liquor solution lot. lotion Moves All MAE Extremities mane mane in the morning M. misce mix m, min minimum a minimum Recommended replacement for "µg" mcg microgram which may be confused with "mg" more dicto m.d.u. to be used as directed utendus mEq milliequivalent mg milligram milligrams per mg/dL deciliter may be confused with "MSO4", spell MgSO4 magnesium sulfate out "magnesium sulfate" mist. mistura mix mitte mitte send mL millilitre morphine sulfate or can mean either morphine sulfate or MS magnesium sulfate magnesium sulfate, spell out either may be confused with "MgSO4", spell MSO4 morphine sulfate out "morphine sulfate" nebul nebula a spray N.M.T. not more than noct. nocte at night non rep. non repetatur no repeats NPO nil per os nothing by mouth NS normal saline (0.9%) half normal saline 1/2NS (0.45%) N.T.E. not to exceed both eyes, sometimes o_2 written as o2 every day/once daily od omne in die (preferred to qd in the UK[4]) "o" can be mistaken as an "a" which od oculus dexter right eye could read "a.d.", meaning right ear, confusion with omne in die om omne mane every morning on omne nocte every night o.p.d. once per day "o" can be mistaken as an "a" which o.s. oculus sinister left eye could read "a.s.", meaning left ear "o" can be mistaken as an "a" which o.u. oculus uterque both eyes could read "a.u.", meaning both ears oz ounce per per by or through p.c. post cibum after meals pig./pigm. pigmentum paint p.m. post meridiem evening or afternoon p.o. per os by mouth or orally p.r. per rectum by rectum PRN, prn pro re nata as needed pulv. pulvis powder PV per vaginam via the vagina q quaque every, per quaque alternis q.a.d. every other day die quaque die ante every day before q.a.m. meridiem noon quater die q.d.s. four times a day can be mistaken for "qd" (every day) sumendus quaque die post every day after noon q.p.m. meridiem or every evening q.h. quaque hora every hour quaque hora every night at q.h.s. somni bedtime every 1 hour; (can q.1 h, q.1° quaque 1 hora replace "1" with other numbers) mistaken for "QOD" or "qds," spell q.d., q1d quaque die every day out "every day" or "daily" can be mistaken for "qd" or "qod," q.i.d. quater in die four times a day write out "four times a day" q4PM at 4pm mistaken to mean every four hours mistaken for "QD," spell out "every q.o.d. every other day other day" quater quaque qqh every four hours hora quantum q.s. a sufficient quantity sufficiat QWK every week R rectal rep., rept. repetatur repeats RL, R/L Ringer's lactate without (usually s sine written with a bar on top of the "s") according to the art secundum s.a. (accepted practice); artem use your judgement "SC" can be mistaken for "SL," SC, subc, subcut, meaning sublingual; "SQ" can be subcutaneous subq, SQ mistaken for "5Q" meaning five every dose used exclusively in veterinary s.i.d/SID semel in die once a day medicine sig signa write on label sublingually, under SL the tongue sol solutio solution s.o.s., si op. sit si opus sit if there is a need one half or sliding ss semis mistaken for "55" or "1/2" scale sliding scale insulin mistaken to mean "strong solution of SSI, SSRI or sliding scale iodine" or "selective serotonin regular insulin reuptake inhibitor" Serotonin– SNRI norepinephrine (antidepressant) reuptake inhibitor selective serotonin SSRI reuptake inhibitor (antidepressant) (a specific class of antidepressant) stat statim immediately SubQ subcutaneously supp suppositorium suppository susp suspension syr syrupus syrup tab tabella tablet tal., t talus such tbsp tablespoon troche trochiscus lozenge ter die t.d.s. three times a day sumendum t.i.d. ter in die three times a day t.i.w. three times a week mistaken for twice a week top. topical total parenteral T.P.N. nutrition tr, tinc., tinct. tincture tsp teaspoon mistaken for a "4", "0" or "cc", spell U unit out "unit" u.d., ut. dict. ut dictum as directed ung. unguentum ointment United States U.S.P. Pharmacopoeia vag vaginally w with w/a while awake with food (with wf meals) w/o, s without X times Y.O. years old μg microgram mistaken for "mg", meaning milligram List of symbols used in prescriptions Symbols Latin Meaning Possible confusion @ at mistaken for "2"; spell out "at" > greater than mistaken for a "7" < less than mistaken for an "L" take, take this, or take ℞ recipe thus