2.6 Common Abbreviations
You will see and hear a number of common abbreviations day to day in the hospital setting. The surgical procedure abbreviations below are a sample of common ones you may encounter in the hospital. It is important to understand these, and likely others, as they are often used by medical professionals in many medical settings.
| ABBREVIATION | MEANING | DEFINITION |
|---|---|---|
| ACL | anterior cruciate ligament | Reconstructing the anterior cruciate ligament |
| BSO | bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy | Surgically removing both ovaries and fallopian tubes |
| BKA | below-the-knee amputation | Surgically removing the leg below the knee |
| Bx | biopsy | Removing tissue or other matter for testing |
| CABG | coronary artery bypass graft | Surgically creating a new blood supply to an area of the heart that is supplied by a blocked artery |
| CR | closed reduction | Treating a fractured bone without a surgical incision |
| D&C | dilation and curettage | Dilating the cervix and removing the inner lining of the uterus with a curette |
| ORIF | open reduction internal Fixation | Treating a fractured bone with an incision, placing plates and screws/pins to hold the bone fragments together |
| T&A | tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy | Surgically removing the tonsils and adenoids |
| TAH | total abdominal hysterectomy | Surgically removing the uterus through the abdomen |
| THA | total hip arthroplasty | Surgically reconstructing the hip joint by removing the bones and replacing them with plastic/metal components |
| TURP | transurethral resection of the prostate | Surgically removing part of the prostate by inserting instruments through the urethra |
Attribution
Unless otherwise indicated, material on this page has been adapted from the following resource:
Sturdy, L., & Erickson, S. (2022). The language of medical terminology. Open Education Alberta. https://pressbooks.openeducationalberta.ca/medicalterminology/, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
