Abbreviations, prescription: A prescription, as is well known, is a physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or device for a patient. What may be less well known is that a prescription has several parts:
You may see some chicken scrawl marks on a prescription. For example, b.i.d. It means twice (two times) a day and is an abbreviation for "bis in die" which in Latin means, not too surprisingly, twice a day. It is one of a number of hallowed abbreviations of Latin terms that have been traditionally used in prescriptions to specify the frequency with which medicines should be taken.
Some of the abbreviations of terms commonly used in prescriptions with their meanings are:
The word "prescription" also comes from the Latin "praescriptus" and is made up of "prae," before + "scribere," to write, so that prescription meant "to write before." This reflected the historic fact that a prescription had traditionally to be written before a drug could be prepared and then administered to a patient.
See also "Drug caution codes."
Use of Latin prescription abbreviations has become a kind of medical shorthand. However, unless you have a medical background, prescription abbreviations can ...
Prescription abbreviations: A prescription, as is well known, is a physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or device for a patient.
Abbreviation is defined as making shorter, or shortened from a word or phrase. Abbreviations make our lives easier every day. Whether you are writing out a date and write ...
Prescription Abbreviations Understanding What Your Doctor Writes on a Prescription. From Michael Bihari, MD, former About.com Guide. Updated February 25, 2010
Answer: The Latin and English abbreviations on prescription slips are “shorthand†directions for how and when a medication is to be used, and other special directions ...