CHARTING ABBREVIATIONS
BAR – Bright, alert, responsive
QAR – Quiet, alert, responsive
EDUD – eating, drinking, urinating, defecating
EEN – eyes, ears, nose
N - Normal
V – vomiting
D – Diarrhea
A – anorexia
PU/PD – Polyuria/polydipsia (increased urintating/drinking)
OU – both eyes (ocular)
AU – both ears (aural)
D – Right (dextrans, AD/OD)
S – left (sinister, AS/OS)
NSF – no significant findings
WNL – within normal limits
NPS – no parasites seen
ADR – “ain’t doing right” – DO NOT USE ON CHARTS
qXh – every X hours (i.e., q12h, q24h, etc.)
BID, TID, QID – twice/three times/four times daily – DO NOT USE ON CHARTS
∆ - change
CC: - client concern
SOAP – Subjective, objective, assessment, plan
Hx – History
Tx – treatment
Dx – diagnosis
Ddx – differential diagnosis
Rx – prescription
Sx - Surgery
Rf – Right front (large R circled denotes right)
Lr – Left rear
MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY
Directional/Positional
Lateral – away from midline
Medial – toward midline
Dorsal – referring to the back/top of animal, or towards that area
Ventral – referring to the bottom of the animal, or towards that area
Cranial – toward head
Rostral – toward nose (generally only used when talking about the head)
Anterior – toward the head or front (human term)
Posterior (toward the back or rear)
Proximal – near to
Distal – away from
Anatomic Terms
Abdomen (Abdominal) – the abdominal cavity/area, colloquially known as the “belly”
Thorax (Thoracic) – the chest cavity/area
Hepatic – referring to the liver
Renal – referring to the kidneys
Gastrointestinal (GI) – referring to the stomach and intestines
Cardiac – referring to the heart
Pulmonary – referring to the lungs
Vascular – referring to the blood vessels/circulatory system
Endocrine – referring to the hormone producing glands/system
Stifle – Knee
Carpus – front foot
Tarsus – rear foot
Suffixes
-otomy: to cut into or open something (cystotomy)
-ectomy: to remove something
-centesis: to pierce something with a needle, usually to remove fluid or a sample (cystocentesis)
-itis: inflammation
-pexy: to attach one thing to another