Many professions use jargon, a collection of specialized or technical language unique to the field that may not be understood by people outside of that field. The use of slang, or informal words and expressions, as well as abbreviations is also common. Medicine is certainly no exception. International medical graduates (IMGs) who enter U.S. residency or fellowship positions will find that there are many terms that are particular to U.S. medicine. Many of these terms, which we call “Medicalese,” may be new and initially confusing to IMGs, even those who come from countries where the language of instruction is English and who speak and comprehend English quite well. U.S. “Medicalese” differs even from “Medicalese” in other English-speaking countries, such as the United Kingdom.
ECFMG’s Acculturation Program has developed this glossary of “Medicalese” to help orient newly arriving IMGs to some of the terminology commonly used by doctors, nurses, and other medical staff in U.S. hospitals and clinics. It is our hope that this glossary will facilitate understanding of these terms when they are used by others.
It is important to understand that some of the slang, abbreviations, and jargon commonly used within medical practice might sound insensitive to patients or their families. These terms, therefore, should not be used in situations where they may be overheard. Unfortunately, some misguided medical staff may also use terms that are disrespectful or belittling to patients. Such inappropriate terms have no place whatsoever in the professional practice of medicine and are not included on this list.
As with all resources on the ECFMG Acculturation website, the “Medicalese” glossary is a work in progress. If you have suggestions for additional words, phrases, or abbreviations to be added to this list, please submit them for consideration to acculturation@ecfmg.org.
| Term |
Definition |
Use |
| AMA |
against medical advice; a way of leaving the hospital |
The patient wants to leave AMA. |
| bag |
to breathe for the patient artificially using a hand-operated device called an ambu-bag |
This patient is very hard to bag. |
| banana bag |
intravenous infusion bag containing multivitamins (appears yellow) |
Hang a banana bag on her. |
| blow |
to destroy a vein while trying to insert an IV |
That medical student has already blown every vein in both of that elderly patient’s arms. |
| boarders |
patients from other services occupying beds on the team’s ward or floor; usually unwelcome |
I have two boarders on my service. |
| bounce/bounce back |
patient returns to service from which he or she had recently been discharged or transferred |
He was discharged yesterday, but he bounced back today. |
| BP |
blood pressure |
The BP is too high! |
| brady/brady down |
slowing heart rate |
Whoops, he is starting to brady down. |
| bronch (bronk) |
perform a bronchoscopy |
Pulmonary is going to bronch her tomorrow morning. |
| bugs |
germs; infecting organisms (bacteria, viruses, etc.) |
Her decreased immunity sets her up for all kinds of bugs. |
| bump |
to increase the dose of a drug |
He is still having too many seizures; let’s bump the Dilantin. |
| CABG (pronounced cabbage) |
coronary artery bypass graft |
He had a CABG three years ago. |
| call |
1) night or weekend duty at the hospital; also, "call night," "call schedule," etc.
2) short for judgment call; decision in which there is no clearly right answer |
1) I'm on call this weekend.
2) It’s a tough call whether or not to add another antibiotic. |
| call a code |
to initiate or announce the start of a patient resuscitation effort |
I just lost her pulse; call a code! |
| CBC |
complete blood count |
Get a CBC on him tomorrow morning. |
| CHF |
congestive heart failure |
His CHF is so bad he can't lie down flat. |
| code |
to use full emergency measures to resuscitate a patient who has suffered a heart or breathing stoppage; also, a noun referring to the process |
How long has this code been going? |
| crash |
sudden, rapid, and often unanticipated deterioration of a patient |
He looked fine. I never expected him to crash like that. |
| crit |
hematocrit |
Get a crit every hour until it stabilizes. |
| C-section |
cesarean section |
Because of the fetal distress, we went with a C-section. |
| C-spine / T-spine / L-spine |
cervical, thoracic, or lumbar spine |
Patients with that kind of injury are at risk for C-spine injuries. |
| D&C |
dilatation and curettage |
If the vaginal bleeding continues, we may consider a D&C. |
| DNR |
do not resuscitate; a designation unofficially or in some cases officially given to patients who are not to receive heroic measures (not to be coded) in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest |
Does this patient have a DNR order?
Is this patient DNR? |
| D/C |
1) discontinue
2) discharge
(Note: It is critical to distinguish between these two meanings.) |
D/C the heparin before he gets D/Ced to the nursing home. |
| de-sating |
decreasing oxygen saturation |
Let’s get some oxygen on her; she’s de-sating! |
| DOA |
dead on arrival |
Two of the patients from the accident were DOA. |
| doc |
common term of address or referral for physicians by patients and medical staff |
We need to get in touch with her doc. |
| EMS |
Emergency Medical Services (the ambulance and rescue system); see Fire Rescue |
EMS is on the scene of a three-car accident. |
| EMT |
Emergency Medical Technician |
The EMT said he stopped breathing about two minutes before the ambulance arrived. |
| eyeball |
to examine visually |
Let’s remove that dressing; I want to eyeball the wound. |
| Fire Rescue |
medical emergency response service; see EMS |
Fire Rescue is bringing in a seizing kid. |
| H&H |
hemoglobin and hematocrit |
What was his last H&H? |
| I&D |
incision and drainage |
The only way to deal with an abscess is to I&D it. |
| I&O |
measurement of fluid intake and output |
All renal patients need strict I&Os. |
| keep an eye on |
watchful waiting, continued observation |
Let’s hold off on the blood and keep an eye on him for now. |
| line |
intravenous access |
You are going to need a big line to give that drug. |
| lytes |
electrolytes |
His lytes suggest dehydration. |
| LOC |
loss of consciousness |
When he fell, was there any LOC? |
| LP |
lumbar puncture (spinal tap) |
Was there blood in the LP? |
| MI |
myocardial infarction |
This EKG clearly shows an old MI. |
| MVA |
motor vehicle accident |
He was the passenger in an MVA. |
| neb |
medicated nebulizer treatment |
That asthmatic kid needs another neb. |
| orthopods, pods |
orthopedists |
After we stabilize him, we need to get the pods to see him. |
| preemie |
a prematurely born baby |
That preemie is going to need to go to the PICU right away. |
| prepped |
prepared for a procedure |
Get her prepped for an LP. |
| round |
briefly evaluate each patient on a service by physically visiting the patient at the bedside, reviewing his or her progress, and planning further management |
We round at 7 a.m. every day. |
| run the list |
review updated diagnostic results, clinical course, and treatment plans for all patients on a service, on a patient-by-patient basis |
Let’s run the list right after lunch. |
| sharps |
Needles, scalpels, IV catheters - anything that could be contaminated and needs to be placed in a sharps container before disposal |
Okay, let’s get all the sharps off the field. |
| soft admission |
patient for whom the need for admission is questionable |
That chest pain was really a soft admission. |
| STAT |
immediately, as opposed to routine |
I need an EKG STAT! |
| STD |
sexually transmitted disease |
Did she have any prior history of STDs? |
| through and through |
a gunshot wound that has both an entrance and an exit wound |
There was a through and through of the left thigh. |
| tox screen |
blood test to determine what drugs are in a patient’s system |
If he doesn't wake up soon, we should get a tox screen on him. |
| trach (trake) |
perform a tracheostomy |
Call ENT to trach this guy. |
| tracks |
needle marks usually from IV drug abuse |
With all those tracks, it is going to be tough to get a line in. |
| triage |
the system of prioritizing patients in an emergency situation in which there are a great number of injured or ill |
We need to triage these MVA victims. |
| triple-A |
abdominal aortic aneurysm |
That mass in the abdomen could be a triple-A. |
| tube |
intubate |
He is tiring out; we are going to need to tube him. |
| turf |
transfer the patient to another service |
That patient was turfed to us from Surgery. |
| zonked, zonked out |
heavily sedated, asleep |
I think he’s had enough; he’s zonked. |
