Medical prescription abbreviations - Guide to read.

It can be rather difficult for an ordinary person to read a prescription written by a doctor since there we can find a lot of abbreviations. Moreover, some of them look like written in an unfamiliar language and this is quite natural. For centuries doctors wrote prescriptions only in Latin and still they have been using plenty of Latin words. To this, names of modern medicines can be added which are not understandable for untrained people either. And, of course, doctors are forced to use abbreviations and scribble (yes, we just admire their scrawled handwriting) to save time for examining numerous patients. So there is no wonder if you can’t decipher what is scribbled in your prescription and you are not alone. Let's sort it out together!

What is Rx?

These mysterious letters may be often seen at the very top of prescription making your wonder about the meaning. Don’t worry, Rx stands for «prescription» (from Latin «recipe») and also can be found in phrases «Rx only» or «Rx drug» (prescription medicine). So if you discover such an addition in your prescription, don’t lose it or you won’t be able to buy necessary medicines at a pharmacy.

Rx (prescription)

What to take?

Medicines come in different forms, so if you see «cap» in your prescription, buy capsules, while «tab» means tablets.

cap (capsules)

tab (tablets)

How to take?

Medicines can be taken orally either «po» (per os) meaning you should take a drug by mouth, swallowing it, or «sublingual» meaning you should dissolve a medicine under the tongue. Besides, drugs can be administered: IM (intramuscularly), IV (intravenously), SC or SQ (subcutaneously) and PR (by rectum). When it comes to instilling eyes drops, you may find instructions like «od» (oculus dexter - right eye), «os» (oculus sinister - left eye), «ou» (each eye). If you discover «au» in your prescription, then it is about ears (each ear).

po (per os)

IM (intramuscularly)

IV (intravenously)

SC (subcutaneously)

SQ (subcutaneously)

PR (by rectum)

od (oculus dexter - right eye)

os (oculus sinister - left eye)

ou (each eye)

au (each ear)

When to take?

Sometimes you are prescribed to take a drug «ac» (ante cibum), i.e. before eating, sometimes «pc» (post cibum), i.e. after eating and sometimes «prn» (pro re nata) meaning as you need it. When it is recommended to take a medicine for a night, there may be either «qHS» (Hour of Sleep), or «hs» (hora somni) in a prescription. If you see «bid» (bis in die), take a medicine 2 times a day; «tid» (ter in die) - 3 times and «qid» (quater in die) - 4 times a day. Dose frequency may specified as «q 3 h» (quaque 3 hora) - every 3 hours and the number may differ. «qd» (quaque die) means «every day» while «QAM» is «every morning».

ac (ante cibum)

pc (post cibum)

prn (pro re nata)

qHS (Hour of Sleep)

hs (hora somni)

bid (bis in die)

tid (ter in die)

qid (quater in die)

q 3 h (quaque 3 hora)

qd (quaque die)

QAM is «every morning»

How much?

Dose of medication can be given in ml (milliliters), g (grams) or gtts (gutta - drops).
Sure, there are much more abbreviations that can be found in prescriptions, but they are more specialized and more commonly found in medical records.

ml (milliliters)

g (grams)

gtts (gutta - drops)

Full list of medical prescription abbreviations.

Medical abbreviation	Latin	Meaning
BNF		British National Formulary
ad	ad	up to
a.d.	aurio dextra	right ear
ad lib.	ad libitum	use as much as one desires; freely
admov.	admove	apply
agit	agita	stir/shake
alt. h.	alternis horis	every other hour
amp		Ampule
amt		Amount
a.l.	aurio laeva	left ear
a.s.	aurio sinister	left ear
A.T.C.		around the clock
a.u.	auris utrae	both ears
bis	bis	twice
b.i.d.	bis in die	twice daily
B.M.		bowel movement
bol.	bolus	as a large single dose (usually intravenously)
B.S.		blood sugar
cap.	capsula	capsule
caps.	capsula	capsule
c	cum	with (usually written with a bar on top of the "c")
c	cibos	food
cc	cum cibos	with food, (but also cubic centimetre)
cf		with food
comp.		compound
crm		cream
D5W		dextrose 5% solution
D5NS		dextrose 5% in normal saline (0.9%)
D.A.W.		dispense as written
dc		discontinue
disc		Discontinue
D/C		Discontinue
dieb. alt.	diebus alternis	every other day
dil.		dilute
disp.		dispense
div.		divide
d.t.d.	dentur tales doses	give of such doses
D.W.		distilled water
elix.		elixir
e.m.p.	ex modo prescripto	as directed
emuls.	emulsum	emulsion
et	et	And
ex aq	ex aqua	in water
fl.		fluid
fld.		fluid
ft.		make; let it be made
gr		Grain
H		Hypodermic
h	hora	Hour

hr	hora	Hour
h.s.	hora somni	at bedtime
ID		Intradermal
inj.	injectio	injection
IV		Intravenous
IVP		Intravenous Push
IVPB		intravenous piggyback
L.A.S.		label as such
LCD		coal tar solution
lin	linimentum	liniment
liq	liquor	solution
lot.		lotion
M.	misce	mix
mEq		Milliequivalent
mist.	mistura	mix
mitte	mitte	send
nebul	nebula	a spray
N.M.T.		not more than
noct.	nocte	at night
non rep.	non repetatur	no repeats
1/2NS		half normal saline (0.45%)
N.T.E.		not to exceed
o_2		both eyes, sometimes written as o2
o.d.	oculus dexter	right eye
o.s.	oculus sinister	left eye
o.u.	oculus uterque	both eyes
oz		Ounce
per	per	By or Through
p.c.	post cibum	after meals
p.m.	post meridiem	evening or afternoon
p.r.		by rectum
pulv.	pulvis	powder
q.a.d.	quoque alternis die	every other day
q.a.m.	quaque die ante meridiem	every day before noon
q.h.	quaque hora	every hour
q.h.s.	quaque hora somni	every night at bedtime
q.1h	quaque 1 hora	every 1 hour; (can replace "1" with other numbers)
q.d.	quaque die	every day
q.i.d.	quater in die	four times a day
q.o.d.		every other day
qqh	quater quaque hora	every four hours
q.s.	quantum sufficiat	a sufficient quantity
R		Rectal
rep.	repetatur	repeats
rept.	repetatur	repeats
RL		Ringer's Lactate
R/L		Ringer's lactate
s	sine	without (usually written with a bar on top of the "s")
s.a.	secundum artum	use your judgement
SC		Subcutaneous

subc		Subcutaneous
subq		Subcutaneous
subcut		Subcutaneous
sol	solutio	Solution
s.o.s.	si opus sit	if there is a need
si op. sit	si opus sit	if there is a need
ss	semis	One-Half
supp	suppositorium	suppository
susp		Suspension
syr	syrupus	Syrup
tab	tabella	Tablet
tal.	talus	such
t	talus	such
tbsp		Tablespoon
troche	trochiscus	lozenge
tsp		Teaspoon
t.i.d.	ter in die	three times a day
t.d.s.	ter die sumendum	three times a day
t.i.w.		three times a week
top.		topical
T.P.N.		total parenteral nutrition
tr,		tincture
tinc.		tincture
tinct.		tincture
u.d.	ut dictum	as directed
ut. dict.	ut dictum	as directed
ung.	unguentum	ointment
U.S.P.		United States Pharmacopoeia
w		With
w/o		Without
X		Times
Y.O.		years old
AAA		apply to affected area
a.m.m.	ad manu medicae	at doctors hand
B.S.A		body surface areas
b.t.		bedtime
BUCC	bucca	inside cheek
cib.	cibus	food
CST		Continue same treatment
D or d		days or doses
D5W		dextrose 5% solution (sometimes written as D5W)
D.A.W.		dispense as written (i.e., no generic substitution)
disp.		dispersible or dispense
dL		Deciliter
DTO		Deodorized Tincture of Opium
eod		Every Other Day
gtt(s)	gutta(e)	drop(s)
h.s		hour sleep or half-strength
IN		intranasal
IT		Intrathecal

IU		International Unit
MAE		Moves All Extremities
mane	mane	in the morning
m.d.u.	more dicto utendus	to be used as directed
MgSO4		magnesium sulfate
MSO4		morphine sulfate
NPO	nil per os	Nothing By Mouth
om	omne mane	every morning
on	omne nocte	every night
o.p.d.		once per day
PV	per vaginam	via the vagina
q.d.s.	quater die sumendus	four times a day
q.p.m.	quaque die post meridiem	every day after noon or every evening
q4PM		at 4pm
s.a.	secundum artem	according to the art (accepted practice); use your judgement
SNRI (antidepressant)		Serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor
SSRI (antidepressant)		selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
U		Unit
w/a		While Awake
wf		with food (with meals)
μg		microgram
@		at
℞	recipe	take, take this, or take thus
BDS	bis die sumendum	twice daily
b.d.	bis in die	twice daily
c.	cum	with (usually written with a bar on top of the "c")
cr.		cream
IJ	injectio	injection
inj	injectio	injection
m	minimum	a minimum
mg/dL		Milligrams per Deciliter
pig.	pigmentum	paint
pigm.	pigmentum	paint
q.1.d.	quaque die	every day
q.1 h	quaque 1 hora	every 1 hour; (can replace "1" with other numbers)
q.1°	quaque 1 hora	every 1 hour; (can replace "1" with other numbers)
SQ		Subcutaneous
s.i.d	semel in die	once a day
SID	semel in die	once a day
SSRI		sliding scale insulin or sliding scale regular insulin
TDS	ter die sumendum	three times a day
tr		Tincture