Decode Your Doctor’s Language
Medical speak is filled with tricky shorthand that can be confusing, condescending, and even life threatening, but not anymore: Be your own interpreter with our cheat sheet.
By Joe Kita from Reader's Digest Magazine | May 2012
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Confusing Medical Acronyms, Decoded
Does "CR" stand for Cardiac Rehabilitation? or Colon Resection? When dealing with doctors, don't be embarrassed to ask about
abbreviations, especially if they involve a medication or procedure;
they could have double meanings.
The 13 most common confusing acronyms »
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Funny Medical Acroynms, Decoded
Like G.O.M.E.R.: Get Out of My Emergency Room! Say what?
10 of the more shocking slang terms that doctors might use »
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Helpful Medical Acronyms, Decoded
Our friends at The Doctors television show shared some abbreviations they use to care for patients that can help you at home too, like F.A.S.T.: Facial droop, Arm weakness, Slurred speech, Time to call 911.
Read more »
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Emergency Medical Acronyms, Decoded
If you’ve ever been in a hospital and heard a code announced over the loudspeaker that sent the staff scampering, you’ve probably wondered what was going on. Now you know:
BLUE: Adult medical emergency
WHITE: Pediatric medical emergency
PURPLE: Child abduction
GRAY: Combative person
SILVER: Combative person with a weapon and/or hostage
YELLOW: Bomb threat
PINK: Infant abduction
ORANGE: Hazardous-materials spill
BROWN: Bed full of excrement
RED: Fire
(Note: Emergency codes can differ from hospital to hospital.)
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Extreme Medical Acronyms, Decoded
Sometimes shortcuts are an easier way of noting that something really bad is either about to happen—or already has.
A.V.: Anticipatory Vomiting
P&E: Prep & Enema
B.T.H.O.O.M.: Beats The Hell Out Of Me
G.O.K.: God Only Knows
F.U.O.: Fever of Undetermined Origin
C.Y.A.: Cover Your Ass (there’s been a screw-up)
U.F.O.: Unidentified Foreign Object
N.W.S.: New World Screwworm (parasitic infection)
A.N.D.: Allow Natural Death
M.D.T.: Maggot Debridement Therapy (use of fly larvae to clean wounds)
M.F.C.: Measure For Coffin
D.R.T.: Dead Right There (at scene of accident)
D.R.T.T.T.: Dead Right There, There, and There (at scene of accident, in multiple parts)
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Medical Acronyms from the Lab, Decoded
Your blood test results may contain abbreviations for some important components. Here's what they mean:
Immune Function:
W.B.C.: White Blood Cell count (infection fighters)
Prostate Health:
P.S.A.: Prostate-Specific Antigen (prostate cancer marker)
Energy Levels:
R.B.C.: Red Blood Cell count (oxygen transporters)
M.C.V.: Mean Corpuscular Volume (size of average red blood cell, gauge of anemia)
M.C.H.: Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (amount of hemoglobin in red blood cell, gauge of anemia)
Heart Disease:
H.D.L.: High-Density Lipoprotein (good cholesterol)
L.D.L.: Low-Density Lipo- protein (bad cholesterol)
V.L.D.L.: Very-Low- Density Lipoprotein (very bad cholesterol)
apo B: apolipoprotein B (heart-disease marker)
C.R.P.: C-Reactive Protein (measure of arterial inflammation)
Liver and Kidney Disease:
G.G.T.: Gamma-Glutamyl Transpeptidase (liver-disease marker)
A.L.T.: Alanine Transaminase (liver-disease marker, can also appear as S.G.P.T.)
B.U.N.:Blood Urea Nitrogen (gauge of kidney function)
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