Medicalese â?" Slang

Medicalese â?" Slang

Medicalese õ?" Slang

Doctors, nurses, ED and OR technicians use slang as their everyday language, as do many of us. Sometimes transcriptionists have to transcribe the fractured and shortened English words verbatim, and then there are times they actually know what the dictators are wanting to say and they can convert to medicolegally correct terms.

A's and B's õ?" apnea and bradycardia...sometimes, particularly when referring to a neonate.
appy õ?" appendectomy
art line õ?" arterial line
amp and gent õ?" ampicillin and gentamicin
banana bag õ?" an IV potassium drip
bili - bilirubin
bili lights - lights used in treatment of neonatal jaundice (hyperbilirubinemia)
bovied õ?" "Bovie coagulated"
cap gas õ?" capillary blood gas
cathed õ?" catheterized
coag õ?" coagulation (time)
consented õ?" Statement is often made "The patient was consented for surgery." What is actually meant, of course, is that the patient signed an Informed Consent form.
crit õ?" hematocrit
DC õ?" discontinue (or) discharge
decels õ?" decelerations; expand to full word in reports
dehisced õ?" actually, a wound does not dehisce; it is in a state of dehiscence, but here again the word has become acceptable through usage.
DeLee'd õ?" a better way would be *****bstitute "DeLee suctioned"
dex õ?" dexamethasone
di-di twins õ?" dichorionic-diamniotic
diff õ?" as in "CBC with diff."
dig ("dij") õ?" digitalis. Even if the doctor is indicating digoxin, both are digitalis-derived drugs, and "dig" by itself is confusing and interrupts flow of thought.
digitation õ?" Aside from the dictionary definition(s), ED doctors sometimes use this to mean amputation of a digit.
double-doc'ed õ?" Meaning that two procedures are planned to be performed on the patient involving two surgeons such as an orthopedist and a plastic surgeon requiring two consents to be signed.
echo õ?" echo what? echocardiogram? ECHO virus infection? echoencephalogram?
epi õ?" epinephrine
exam õ?" examination.
ex lap õ?" exploratory laparotomy
fluctuance õ?" used to indication the presence of a fluctuant mass.
H. flu õ?" H. influenzae
histo õ?" histo what? histoplasmosis? histiocyte?
jake õ?" can refer to one of the Jako instruments or any instrument the surgeon wants it to.
joker õ?" may refer to any instrument a surgeon or ED doctor is used to being handed at this point in a surgery or repair procedure.
junky lungs õ?" nonspecific lung disease/noise
lab õ?" laboratory/laboratory data
laboring õ?" in OB/GYN usage, labor should be a noun; the patient is in labor, not laboring (although many women would disagree).
lytes õ?" electrolytes
mec, mec-staining õ?" referring to meconium
mets, metz õ?" can mean at least two things; metastases and/or Metzenbaum scissors
mikes õ?" micrograms
nitro õ?" used for many types of nitroglycerin
olive õ?" not really slang; a term meaning a hard knot found in the right upper quadrant in pyloric stenosis
osteo õ?" osteoporosis? osteomyelitis? osteopenia?
oxy hood and oxy tent õ?" oxygen hood, oxygen tent
peds õ?" pediatrics
pee - urinate
peristalsing õ?" Peristalsis is normal.
pulse ox õ?" pulse oximetry
pneumo õ?" pneumo what? pneumonia? pneumothorax? pneumocentesis? pneumocystis?
preemie õ?" premature infant
primip õ?" primipara
ROMI, romied õ?" "rule out myocardial infarction," which may be spelled out or the acronym used. For the dictated "The patient was romied," it is usually safe to type "The patient was placed on a rule out myocardial infarction protocol." or "...placed on a ROMI protocol."
sat, satting õ?" saturation of oxygen, having saturations at...
saucerized õ?" saucerization
skeletonized õ?" an anatomical part (usually an artery) was stripped of surrounding tissue.
segs õ?" segmented cells
Smurf sign õ?" slang for Chadwick sign and/or Jacquemier sign ("Smurf" because it refers to a blue discoloration of vaginal tissue in pregnancy).
swiss cheese õ?" a colorful descriptive term sometimes used in radiology to describe severe osteoporosis.
temp õ?" temperature
tet syndrome õ?" tetralogy of Fallot syndrome
theo level õ?" theophylline level
trach õ?" tracheostomy or tracheotomy
twisted gut õ?" volvulus; decision to be made on an individual basis as to the advisability of using this rather unprofessional description
UA õ?" an abbreviation which can be used in laboratory data for urinalysis or for uric acid
vanc õ?" vancomycin
V tach õ?" ventricular tachycardia
white coat syndrome - The patient is anxious/nervous about being in the doctor's office which results in benign temporary hypertension.

â Prentice-Hall, Inc.
A Pearson Education Company
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

​