Medical terminology · Study chart
Clinical abbreviations chart
CVA, CAD, HTN, PNA, AMS and the other condition, procedure and exam abbreviations people look up one at a time: what each stands for, the body system, a plain meaning and what not to confuse it with. Free and printable. For study only, not medical advice.
- 45 abbreviations
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1 · Quick lookup
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Type the letters (CVA, HTN, PNA) or a word from the meaning (stroke, clot, kidney). Exact matches come first. The search covers the 45 entries on this page.
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2 · The chart
45 clinical abbreviations by body system
The abbreviations that name a condition, a procedure, an exam finding or a result on a chart. Each one has what it stands for, a plain one-line meaning, and the look-alike it gets mixed up with. For study only: this page explains the letters; it does not diagnose or treat anyone, and your facility’s own approved list comes first.
Prescription and charting shorthand (bid, tid, prn, NPO, the Joint Commission “Do Not Use” list) and word parts are on the medical abbreviations decoder, so they are not repeated here.
Clinical abbreviation chart · CollegeCompass360 free study tools
For study only; not medical advice. Reworded from NIH MedlinePlus, the Medical Terminology 2e and Nursing Skills 2e open textbooks, and the approved abbreviation lists of NC EMS, Loyola Stritch School of Medicine, Sullivan County Public Health, Washington State DOH and Mary Free Bed. Your facility’s own approved list comes first.
Heart and blood vessels10 entries
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Plain meaning | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAD | coronary artery disease | Plaque, a waxy build-up of fat, cholesterol and other material, narrows the coronary arteries, the vessels that carry blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. | CABG is the bypass operation used for it; CAD is the disease. CA on its own is cancer (or calcium on a lab report). |
| MI | myocardial infarction (heart attack) | Blood flow to part of the heart is suddenly blocked, and without oxygen that heart muscle starts to die. | Not cardiac arrest, which is the heart suddenly stopping. Charts often name the type, STEMI or NSTEMI, by the ECG pattern. |
| ACS | acute coronary syndrome | A group of conditions in which blood flow to the heart muscle suddenly stops or drops sharply; a heart attack and unstable angina are both ACS. | ACLS is advanced cardiac life support, a resuscitation standard, not a condition. |
| CHFHF | congestive heart failure | The heart keeps beating but cannot pump enough oxygen-rich blood for the body; blood backs up and fluid collects in the lungs and tissues (congestion, swelling). | Not a heart attack (MI) and not cardiac arrest. HF, heart failure, is the shorter modern form. |
| HTN | hypertension (high blood pressure) | The force of blood against the artery walls stays too high. A blood pressure is written as two numbers, systolic (the heart beating) over diastolic (the heart resting). | Hypotension is abnormally low blood pressure, the opposite; it is written out, not shortened to HTN. |
| DVT | deep vein thrombosis (also deep venous thrombosis) | A blood clot in a vein deep in the body, most often the lower leg or thigh. | PE is what the clot causes if it breaks loose and travels to the lung. JVD is a bulging neck vein, not a clot. |
| PE | pulmonary embolism (pulmonary embolus) | A blockage in an artery of the lung, usually a clot that broke off a DVT in the leg and traveled with the blood. | In a medical record PE can also mean physical examination (Loyola’s list); the section heading tells you which. PTX is a collapsed lung, not a clot. |
| CABG | coronary artery bypass graft | Open-heart surgery that makes a detour around a blocked coronary artery with a graft, a blood vessel taken from the leg, chest or wrist, so blood can reach the heart muscle. | CAD is the disease; CABG is the operation. PCI opens the artery from the inside with a balloon and stent instead. |
| PCIPTCA | percutaneous coronary intervention | Angioplasty: a thin tube is threaded into a narrowed heart artery and a balloon opens it, often leaving a stent, a small metal mesh tube, to hold it open. | Not CABG, which is surgery through the chest. PTCA (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty) is the older name. |
| AAA | abdominal aortic aneurysm | A balloon-like bulge in the wall of the aorta, the main artery from the heart, in the part that runs through the abdomen. | TAA is the same bulge in the chest (thoracic) part of the aorta. |
Lungs and breathing6 entries
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Plain meaning | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| PNA | pneumonia | An infection in one or both lungs that makes the air sacs fill with fluid or pus; bacteria, viruses and fungi can cause it. | PTX is a pneumothorax, a collapsed lung from air leaking around it, not an infection. PCP on some lists is Pneumocystis pneumonia, not the primary care provider. |
| COPD | chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | A group of long-term lung diseases that block airflow and make it hard to breathe, mainly emphysema (damaged air sacs) and chronic bronchitis (inflamed, mucus-filled airways). | CHF is the heart. Both cause shortness of breath; COPD is the lungs. |
| URI | upper respiratory infection | An infection of the nose, sinuses, throat (pharynx) or voice box (larynx), the upper part of the airway; usually viral. | UTI is a urinary tract infection: one letter apart, a different body system. |
| SOB | shortness of breath | The person feels they cannot get enough air; the medical word is dyspnea. | DOE is shortness of breath on exertion (with activity). PND is waking at night short of breath. SBO is a bowel obstruction. |
| PTX | pneumothorax (collapsed lung) | Air leaks into the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall, and the lung collapses. | PNA is pneumonia, an infection. PE is a clot in the lung’s blood vessels. |
| OSA | obstructive sleep apnea | Breathing pauses or gets very shallow during sleep because the airway collapses or is blocked. | OA is osteoarthritis, a joint condition. |
Brain and nerves6 entries
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Plain meaning | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVA | cerebrovascular accident (stroke) | Blood flow to part of the brain is cut off and brain cells begin to die within minutes. An ischemic stroke is a clot blocking a vessel; a hemorrhagic stroke is a vessel bursting and bleeding into the brain. | TIA looks the same at first, but it passes. CVD is cerebrovascular disease (the brain’s blood supply) in the terminology textbook but cardiovascular disease (the heart and vessels) on the cancer-registry list: write it out. |
| TIA | transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke) | The blood supply to part of the brain is blocked only briefly; symptoms are like a stroke’s but most are gone within an hour (up to 24 hours), and the brain cells are not permanently damaged. | CVA is a completed stroke; a TIA is charted as its own diagnosis, not as a small CVA. |
| AMS | altered mental status | A change from the person’s usual awareness or thinking: confusion, drowsiness, reduced alertness, all the way to being unresponsive. | MS means mental status on EMS lists, multiple sclerosis on hospital lists, and the Joint Commission bans MS for morphine sulfate. Write the words. |
| LOC | level of consciousness, or loss of consciousness | Two meanings on approved lists: how awake and aware the person is (level, the EMS use), or a spell of being unconscious, as after a fall (loss, the hospital use). | The sentence decides: “LOC: alert” is a level; “brief LOC” is a loss. A&O x3 (alert and oriented to person, place and time) is the usual way to chart a normal level. |
| TBI | traumatic brain injury | A sudden injury that damages the brain, from a blow, bump or jolt to the head; a concussion is a mild TBI. | CHI, closed head injury, is a head injury with no open wound (EMS lists). TB is tuberculosis, a lung infection. |
| SAH | subarachnoid hemorrhage | Bleeding into the space between the brain and the thin tissues that cover it (the subarachnoid space). | A hemorrhagic CVA is any bleeding stroke; SAH names exactly where the blood is. Not SOB. |
Stomach and intestines5 entries
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Plain meaning | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| GIB | gastrointestinal bleed (bleeding) | Bleeding anywhere along the digestive tract, from the esophagus to the anus; charted as upper or lower by where it starts, it is a sign, not a disease. | BRBPR, bright red blood per rectum, is one charted sign of a lower bleed. GI alone just means gastrointestinal. |
| PUD | peptic ulcer disease | A sore in the lining of the stomach (gastric ulcer) or the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine (duodenal ulcer). | GERD is stomach acid flowing up into the esophagus, a different problem. PAD is the arteries. |
| SBO | small bowel obstruction | Food and stool cannot move through the small intestine; the block can be partial or complete. | SOB is shortness of breath: the same letters in a different order, a different body system. |
| IBD | inflammatory bowel disease | Long-term inflammation of the digestive tract; Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and microscopic colitis are its common types. | IBS, irritable bowel syndrome, affects the large intestine with cramping and changed bowel habits but does not harm the intestines. |
| IBS | irritable bowel syndrome | A problem of the large intestine causing cramping, bloating and changes in bowel habits; it does not damage the intestine. | IBD is the inflammatory disease (Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis). One letter, a big difference. |
Kidneys and urinary tract4 entries
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Plain meaning | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| UTI | urinary tract infection | An infection in any part of the urinary system, most often the bladder and urethra. | URI is an upper respiratory infection: the nose and throat. |
| AKIARF | acute kidney injury (older: acute renal failure, ARF) | A rapid loss, in less than two days, of the kidneys’ ability to remove waste and balance fluids; the older term on many lists is acute renal failure. | CKD is the slow loss over months and years. ARDS is the lungs. |
| CKDCRF | chronic kidney disease | The kidneys slowly lose, over months or years, their ability to filter waste and extra water from the blood. | Older lists write CRF, chronic renal failure. ESRD is CKD’s final stage. |
| ESRD | end-stage renal disease | The final stage of chronic kidney disease, when the kidneys can no longer remove enough waste and fluid to meet the body’s needs. | PD on a kidney unit means peritoneal dialysis, not Parkinson’s disease. |
Hormones and blood sugar2 entries
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Plain meaning | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| DM | diabetes mellitus | A group of disorders in which the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood stays too high because the body makes too little insulin, cannot use it well, or both. | Diabetes insipidus is a different condition, a shortage of antidiuretic hormone, that only shares the first word. |
| DKA | diabetic ketoacidosis | A serious complication of diabetes: with too little insulin the body breaks down fat too fast, and the ketones it makes build up and turn the blood acidic. | DM is the diabetes itself; DKA is a complication of it. |
Bones and joints2 entries
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Plain meaning | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| OADJD | osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease) | The wear-and-tear arthritis: the cartilage that cushions the ends of the bones breaks down over years, usually in the hands, knees, hips, neck and lower back. | RA is rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease of the joints. OSA is sleep apnea. DJD is the older name on many lists, and Loyola’s list even uses OA for a neck joint, so write it out when in doubt. |
| ORIF | open reduction and internal fixation | Surgery that puts a broken bone back in place (reduction) through an incision (open) and holds it with screws, plates, wires or nails (internal fixation). | Fx is the fracture itself. Not ROM, range of motion. |
Infections1 entry
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Plain meaning | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| MRSA | methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus | A staph infection caused by a strain of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus that resists several common antibiotics. | MS and MRI share letters with it but have nothing to do with it. |
Tissue samples and cancer1 entry
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Plain meaning | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| BxBX | biopsy | A procedure that removes cells or tissue from the body so they can be examined; a needle biopsy goes through the skin, other kinds may need surgery. | Dx is diagnosis, Tx treatment, Hx history, Sx symptoms, Fx fracture, Rx prescription: the x-family on the decoder page. |
Exam findings4 entries
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Plain meaning | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| PERRLAPERRL | pupils equal, round, reactive to light and accommodation | A normal pupil check: both pupils the same size and round, both narrow in light, and both narrow to focus on a near object (accommodation). | PERRL, without the last A, leaves accommodation out. PEARL and PERLA are shorter spellings on the decoder page. |
| NAD | no apparent (or acute) distress | The person looks comfortable at first glance: not struggling to breathe, not in obvious pain. | Not NKDA or NKA, the allergy entries (no known drug allergies, no known allergies). |
| CTA | clear to auscultation (exam), or computed tomography angiography (imaging) | In a lung exam, CTA means the lungs sounded clear through the stethoscope (auscultation is listening to the body’s sounds). In an imaging report, CTA is a CT scan of the blood vessels (angi/o = vessel). | The section heading decides: physical exam versus imaging. CT alone is the scan; CXR is a plain X-ray. |
| JVD | jugular vein (venous) distension | The jugular vein in the neck bulges because pressure in the superior vena cava, the large vein returning blood to the heart, is raised. | DVT is a clot in a deep vein, usually the leg. JVD is a sign seen in the neck. |
Imaging and lab work2 entries
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Plain meaning | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| CXR | chest X-ray | A plain X-ray picture of the organs, bones and tissue in the chest, using a small amount of radiation. | CT is the detailed cross-section scan; CTA is a CT of the vessels. CXR is the plain film. |
| INRPT/INR | international normalized ratio | A standard way of reporting the PT, prothrombin time (the seconds it takes a blood sample to clot), so results from different labs compare. | PTT is a separate clotting measurement that looks at different clotting factors. PT by itself can also mean patient or physical therapy on a chart. |
History and general charting2 entries
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Plain meaning | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMP | last menstrual period | The date the most recent menstrual period began, written on the chart as a date; a cycle is counted from the first day of one period to the first day of the next. | Loyola’s list uses LMP in its obstetric section for a fetal position, left mentoposterior; the context makes it clear. |
| HOH | hard of hearing | The person’s hearing is reduced; hearing disorders make it hard, but not impossible, to hear. | HOB is head of bed; h/o is history of. Both are on the decoder page. |
3 · Practice questions
20 practice questions
The abbreviations on the chart, multiple choice, one at a time. Every answer is explained, and your score is free: no sign-up needed.
Question 1 of 20
CVA stands for
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Sources
Where the facts come from
Every expansion, meaning and look-alike on this page is reworded from one of these public sources: the approved abbreviation lists for what the letters stand for, MedlinePlus and the open textbooks for what the terms mean. Check anything important against your program’s materials and your facility’s own approved list.
- NIH MedlinePlus: Abbreviations (Appendix B)
- NIH MedlinePlus: Stroke
- NIH MedlinePlus: Coronary artery disease
- NIH MedlinePlus: High blood pressure
- NIH MedlinePlus: Pneumonia
- NIH MedlinePlus: COPD
- NIH MedlinePlus: Heart failure
- NIH MedlinePlus: Deep vein thrombosis
- NIH MedlinePlus: Heart attack
- NIH MedlinePlus: Transient ischemic attack
- NIH MedlinePlus: Prothrombin time and INR
- NIH MedlinePlus: Kidney failure, acute kidney failure and chronic kidney disease
- NIH MedlinePlus: Collapsed lung (pneumothorax)
- NIH MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Diabetic ketoacidosis
- NIH MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Heart bypass surgery (CABG)
- NIH MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Acute coronary syndrome
- NIH MedlinePlus: CT scans (CT angiography)
- NIH MedlinePlus: Biopsy
- WisTech Open: Medical Terminology 2e, chapter glossaries (CC BY 4.0)
- WisTech Open: Nursing Skills 2e, assessment chapters (CC BY 4.0)
- eCampusOntario: Building a Medical Terminology Foundation (CC BY 4.0)
- North Carolina Office of EMS: Approved medical abbreviations (2023)
- Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine: Abbreviations and symbols for use in the medical record
- Sullivan County Public Health Services: Abbreviations
- Washington State Department of Health: Common acceptable abbreviations
- Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital: Common abbreviations and terms
- The Carlat Report: Inpatient fact sheet, common hospital acronyms
Questions
Common questions
Cerebrovascular accident, a stroke: blood flow to part of the brain is cut off and brain cells begin to die within minutes. An ischemic stroke is a clot blocking a vessel; a hemorrhagic stroke is a vessel bursting and bleeding into the brain. A TIA, transient ischemic attack, looks the same at first, but it passes and is charted as its own diagnosis.
Coronary artery disease. Plaque, a waxy build-up of fat, cholesterol and other material, narrows the coronary arteries that carry blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. CABG, the bypass graft, is the operation used for it, and PCI is the balloon-and-stent procedure; neither is the disease itself.
Hypertension, high blood pressure: the force of blood against the artery walls stays too high. A blood pressure is written as two numbers, systolic (the heart beating) over diastolic (the heart resting). The opposite, hypotension (abnormally low blood pressure), is written out and not shortened to HTN. This page defines the term for study; it does not say what any reading means for a person.
Pneumonia: an infection in one or both lungs that fills the air sacs with fluid or pus. It is not PTX, a pneumothorax, which is a collapsed lung from air leaking into the space around it, and not PE, a clot in the lung’s blood vessels.
Because each facility approves its own list. LOC is level of consciousness on EMS lists and loss of consciousness on hospital lists; CTA is clear to auscultation in a lung exam and computed tomography angiography in an imaging report; PE is a pulmonary embolism on a problem list and the physical examination in a history and physical; MS is mental status to EMS and multiple sclerosis in a hospital; PD is Parkinson’s disease on a neurology chart and peritoneal dialysis on a kidney unit; CP is chest pain to EMS and cerebral palsy in rehab. The chart’s last column names these pairs, and the section heading of the note usually settles it. When it does not, write the words.
On the medical abbreviations decoder page, with the rest of the prescription and charting shorthand, the dose and route abbreviations, and a word-part decoder. This chart covers only the clinical side: conditions, procedures, exam findings and results.
No. This is a study aid for people in medical assisting, billing and coding, health information, EMS and nursing programs, and for staff who read charts. It explains what the letters stand for and what the term means; it does not diagnose, treat, list what to watch for, or tell anyone what to do about a condition. Questions about your own health belong with a clinician, not a study chart. Your facility’s approved abbreviation list and your instructor come first.
The lookup, the chart of 45 abbreviations and the 20 practice questions with your score are free with no sign-up, and the chart prints as it is. An email unlocks the bonus: the full chart of 68 entries laid out to print on its own, and 30 more questions.