Master List of Prescription Abbreviations Abbreviation From the Latin Meaning aa ana of each ad ad up to a.c. ante cibum before meals 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 a.m. ante meridiem morning, before noon amp ampule amt amount aq aqua water a.l., a.s. aurio laeva, 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 B.S.A body surface areas cap., 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 cr., crm cream D5W dextrose 5% solution (sometimes written as D5W) D5NS dextrose 5% in normal saline (0.9%) D.A.W. dispense as written dc, D/C, disc discontinue dieb. alt. diebus alternis every other day dil. dilute Compliments of EveryPatientsAdvocate.com and About.com Page 1 of 4 Master List of Prescription Abbreviations 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., fld. fluid ft. fiat make; let it be made g gram gr grain gtt(s) gutta(e) drop(s) H hypodermic h, hr hora hour h.s. hora somni at bedtime ID intradermal IM intramuscular (with respect to injections) inj. injectio injection IP intraperitoneal 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 m, min minimum a minimum mcg microgram mEq milliequivalent mg milligram mist. mistura mix mitte mitte send Compliments of EveryPatientsAdvocate.com and About.com Page 2 of 4 Master List of Prescription Abbreviations mL millilitre nebul nebula a spray N.M.T. not more than noct. nocte at night non rep. non repetatur no repeats NS normal saline (0.9%) 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 prn pro re nata as needed p.o. per os by mouth or orally p.r. by rectum pulv. pulvis powder q quaque every 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., rept. repetatur repeats RL, R/L Ringer's lactate s sine without (usually written with a bar on top of the "s") Compliments of EveryPatientsAdvocate.com and About.com Page 3 of 4 Master List of Prescription Abbreviations s.a. secundum artum use your judgement SC, subc, subq, subcut subcutaneous sig write on label SL sublingually, under the tongue sol solutio solution s.o.s., si op. sit si opus sit if there is a need ss semis one half stat statim immediately supp suppositorium suppository susp suspension syr syrupus syrup tab tabella tablet tal., 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, tinc., tinct. tincture u.d., ut. dict. ut dictum as directed ung. unguentum ointment U.S.P. United States Pharmacopoeia vag vaginally w with w/o without X times Y.O. years old Compliments of EveryPatientsAdvocate.com and About.com Page 4 of 4