Practical Guide to Medical English Abbreviation

Shin-Kon Kim

doi:10.5124/jkma.2003.46.2.155

J Korean Med Assoc > Volume 46(2); 2003 > Article

Kim: Practical Guide to Medical English Abbreviation

Special Contribution

Journal of the Korean Medical Association

Journal of the Korean Medical Association 2003; 46(2): 155-163.

Published online: February 28, 2003

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2003.46.2.155

Practical Guide to Medical English Abbreviation

Shin-Kon Kim, M.D.

Department of Surgery, Chonnam National University College of Medicine & Hospital, Korea. sgkim@chonnam.ac.kr

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Currently we are living in an era of abbreviations. In almost every field of modern societies including government, military, hi - tech areas, and especially Internet communications, linguistic shortcuts have ever grown fast and furiously. Abbreviated words may save time and space and energy, however, may cause confusion and errors. These shortened forms of words or phrases include acronyms, clippings, contractions, blends, symbols and some slangs.

Traditionally healthcare fields using rather a long terminology have utilized abbreviations and symbols in repeated and busy practices as well as in medical writings. Here how to make and use abbreviations especially in the field of medicine is reviewed and discussed. In order to coin a new abbreviation in a manuscript, it is advisable to follow certain principles to make an acceptable shortened form.

Abbreviation; Medical terminology; Medical writing

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