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Medical Acronyms

Guess what these medical acronyms and abbreviations stand for.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Featured Quiz
Last updated: January 5, 2019
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First submittedFebruary 13, 2013
Times taken72,395
Average score75.0%
Rating4.35
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Acronym
Meaning
ER
Emergency Room
OR
Operating Room
MRI
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
BMI
Body Mass Index
IBS
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
STD
Sexually Transmitted Disease
GI
Gastrointestinal
ICU
Intensive Care Unit
ADD
Attention Deficit Disorder
GP
General Practitioner
Acronym
Meaning
ACL
Anterior Cruciate Ligament
MS
Multiple Sclerosis
CDC
Centers for Disease Control
SAD
Seasonal Affective Disorder
PTSD
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
VD
Venereal Disease
MMR
Measles, Mumps and Rubella
HIV
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
DNR
Do Not Resuscitate
EKG
Electrocardiogram
kalbahamut
+3
Level 84
Feb 20, 2013
Super easy, but maybe because I've worked in a hospital before.
smartcookie17
+19
Level 45
Oct 15, 2014
Dude, you get around. US, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, teacher, hospital worker, etc...
heracles4
+1
Level 31
Dec 13, 2014
Ikr, it's crazy (:
kalbahamut
+4
Level 84
Aug 30, 2015
I had a lot of family working at that hospital. Most of my jobs before I started my professional career were there. Off and on from age 16 to 24.
jmellor13
+3
Level 67
Feb 20, 2013
So EKG...electrocardiogram. Um...?
kalbahamut
+17
Level 84
Feb 20, 2013
The abbreviation is derived from the German Elektrokardiogramm. ECG is also used, but currently EKG is more common. On that note hospitals have moved away from using the out-of-date ER abbreviation since most emergency departments have many rooms and now use the term ED.
nanook
+11
Level 52
Jun 25, 2014
In the Uk and Australia it's called ECG
kalbahamut
+1
Level 84
Aug 30, 2015
Erik, a lot of acronyms can be used to mean different things. Context clues!
TBRN89
+2
Level 32
Sep 23, 2017
It is called EKG most often in the US, but can also be ECG. EKG is preferred to not confuse it with EEG, which is a measure of brain waves.
PacoGee
+3
Level 44
Feb 28, 2018
its mostly due to branding, the US used West German machines in the early days and the acronym was from Germany.. this was easy I just couldnt spell one of the words right.. so it took me a few to get the spelling right.. haha worst part is I knew I was spelling it wrong.. (wasn't the EKG one :)
frandsenphilip
+2
Level 48
Feb 28, 2018
Nice explanation!
ander217
+3
Level 76
Apr 20, 2018
Kalba, my husband, daughter and DIL are nurses, and none of them ever refer to the ER as the ED. There has been an attempt to make the change in some areas as well as change OR to "surgical suite", but old habits die hard, and as erikthev said, ED means something else medically. Either term can be used, but every hospital in my area has brightly lit signs pointing to the emergency room, not department. Not sure about other places.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 84
Mar 21, 2019
Well, I worked in the ED at Fairfax Hospital for 2 years and everyone there used ED. So did my sister, father, mother, brother-in-law, and cousin who worked at the same hospital; flagship of the largest hospital network in the NoVA/DC area. It might be different in Missouri.
ander217
+2
Level 76
Mar 25, 2019
It's ER at all the rural hospitals in my area. They may use ED in the St. Louis or Kansas City hospitals - I just looked up the Barnes Jewish hospital in St. Louis, and I found it both ways. I'd honestly never heard of the ED until I took this quiz.
Somequiztaker
+1
Level 76
Feb 20, 2013
It is called an EKG because it was invented my a German. In Germany they spell Cardio with a "K"
buck1017
+1
Level 77
Feb 20, 2013
i started typing kardio... and i was like, boy i know Cardio isn't spelled like this...good thing it counted.
escojm
+1
Level 57
Jul 14, 2014
We also shy away from "ECG" because it sounds a lot like "EEG," which is, obvs, a very different test. :)
loganite
+1
Level 87
Feb 20, 2013
Could you also accept Schizoaffective disorder for SAD?
kalbahamut
+2
Level 84
Feb 20, 2013
I don't think that Schizoaffective Disorder is ever abbreviated as SAD, while Seasonal Affective Disorder very often is.
ferdy86
+1
Level 75
Aug 30, 2015
BS. Schizo-affective disorder is abbreviated SAD.
kalbahamut
+6
Level 84
Aug 30, 2015
okay if you say so. I have occasionally been wrong before.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Jan 5, 2019
Schizo will work now
JackintheBox
+6
Level 77
Feb 9, 2020
@ferdy86 What do you mean 'BS'? None of what kal said is BS; he only said he 'doesn't think' that schizoaffective disorder is abbreviated as SAD; he didn't say it wasn't. Also, schizoaffective disorder is most commonly abbreviated as SZA, while SAD is the abbreviation best known for seasonal affective disorder.
RJF
+1
Level 64
Oct 22, 2022
Social Anxiety Disorder is also abbreviated SAD. Perhaps it's best to scrap it altogether and replace it with a less ambiguous question.
dragoncat
+1
Level 78
Feb 20, 2013
You should take out VD, that acronym is not used anymore. It was replaced by STD.
Nyneve922
+2
Level 42
Feb 21, 2013
It's not "Currently Used Medical Acronyms", so VD is fair game.
kalbahamut
+6
Level 84
Feb 24, 2013
actually STD is also an obsolete term. STI is preferred (sexually transmitted infection). STI is more accurate than STD which is more accurate than VD, but all of the above are still commonly used by the public if not by hospital staff.
kitshef
+2
Level 82
May 2, 2014
You could add CT Scan and PET scan to ratchet up the diffiulty
mez
+1
Level 70
Jul 14, 2014
and ODD
smartcookie17
+1
Level 45
Oct 15, 2014
And OCD.
PrinceEric
+5
Level 56
Sep 2, 2015
And OCD. And OCD.
PrinceEric
+4
Level 56
Mar 22, 2019
I'm going to have to insist that you add OCD.
jmaddog
+2
Level 34
Jul 20, 2014
anyone else get half of these from Grey's Anatomy?
Nytebreid
+14
Level 38
Jul 23, 2014
I'm middle-aged. I got half of these from personal experience.
LadyScroop
+3
Level 64
Sep 13, 2014
House, ER, and Chicago Hope for me
britinaus
+2
Level 80
May 21, 2015
I got them because I'm a doctor
ander217
+4
Level 76
Aug 30, 2015
My DH is an ICU RN who has his BLS, ALS, and CCRN certs., my DIL is an OR RN with a BSN and ALS cert., and my DD is a BSN RN with her DNP who works for the VA. We're really into cap locks in our family.
DeusCaritasEst
+1
Level 56
Aug 31, 2015
From being a psychology major, actually.
PacoGee
+1
Level 44
Feb 28, 2018
Ive had like 20 surgeries in my life time, so I have had a few of those tests. I also have ADHD , so :P
Sifhraven
+3
Level 66
Dec 20, 2018
I got them because things tend to stick after hearing it once. That is cool cause it helps with the stuff you want to learn. But also annoying cause lots of stuff you dont want to know also gets stuck in your head. And it gets quite full in there... (maybe that is part of the reason my short term memory is so bad, besides my disease, i think my shortterm has allways been worse. Low working memory/RAM because my "harddisk" is out of memory ;))
LarryLovage
+4
Level 56
Dec 20, 2014
My only comment is you could make MS about the Sclerosis rather than the M.
sussexval
+1
Level 59
Aug 30, 2015
IN UK, electrocardiogram is known as ECG - not EKG. Please allow this
celebeth
+1
Level 68
Aug 30, 2015
100% with 2:11 left.
Eutychus
+1
Level 87
Aug 30, 2015
Technically, the CDC is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Same acronym as when prevention wasn't part of the name. And it used to be the Center (singular) for Disease Control. And before that, the Communicable Disease Center.
Roger77024
+3
Level 57
Aug 30, 2015
TBD - Trump Brain Disease
ctleng76
+11
Level 65
Oct 27, 2017
Wow, you really stretched to try and bring Trump into this. It would have been funnier if TBD was actually a well known medical acronym. Most will think it means "to be determined" which makes the joke pretty lame.
PrinceEric
+3
Level 56
Mar 22, 2019
I agree, that was out of nowhere. Bringing up trump for no reason in a situation that is unrelated is just uncalled for. You should just wait ten to fifteen minutes before trump says something else idiotic, and THEN you'd be on topic.
LarryLovage
+2
Level 56
Aug 31, 2015
In UK they just say Gastro-intestinal, whereas GI means Glucose Index. Or something.
WreckerJack
+1
Level 35
Jun 17, 2016
I think do not revive should also be accepted.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 66
Dec 20, 2018
i tried do not remove... couldnt really figure out why it should be there, was thinking maybe a medical bracelet or something ;)
akp713
+3
Level 83
Sep 15, 2016
ADD ceased to exist way back in 1987 when they changed the name to ADHD. In 2013 they even eliminated the sub-types of ADHD, including the inattentive type that was still sometimes called ADD. So really only ADHD should be acceptable.
jayhiatt
+2
Level 70
Mar 21, 2019
Agreed. I came here to post this. Though the A and the D's still stand for the same thing.
emwcee
+1
Level 45
Nov 28, 2016
That was super easy. I wonder what that says about me . . .
FatDad
+1
Level 78
Oct 27, 2017
Please look up the difference between acronym and abbreviation. While all acronyms are abbreviations, NOT all abbreviations are acronyms. Many of these questions at abbreviations not acronyms.
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Oct 27, 2017
I did look it up:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym

Nneb
+1
Level 28
Oct 27, 2017
Cardiography should also be acceptable...
divantilya
+3
Level 37
Dec 7, 2018
I will never forget the MRI, as it saved my Mom's life (or at least extended it). I was reading about a new medical imaging method called an "MRI" in a medical journal while on the train going to visit my Mom in the hospital. When I got there, her doctor was in with her and was explaining that her xrays showed nothing unusual. I asked him if he had done an MRI and he didn't know what I was talking about. After some argument, he went and brought in another doctor who, when I explained what I'd read (and showed him the article), realized what I was talking about and arranged one for my Mom. I guess that her doctor didn't have the time to read the latest medical journals.
Sifhraven
+2
Level 66
Dec 20, 2018
Curious, how long ago was this?
divantilya
+2
Level 37
Mar 10, 2019
Sifhraven: It was in NYC in the Spring of 1983.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 66
Dec 20, 2018
rubelia and veneral wasnt accepted :( so I figured there were wrong, was happy that i knew them
JudgeRudy
+2
Level 65
Aug 22, 2019
I, too, missed "venereal" due to omitting the last 'e'. Not something often lamented for missing out on.
JackintheBox
+1
Level 77
Mar 21, 2019
In the UK (and some other places) 'operating room' is known as 'operating theatre'
kalbahamut
+1
Level 84
Mar 21, 2019
Technically that should only be used in special operating rooms that have a place for people to watch the procedure.
TWM03
+2
Level 67
Mar 22, 2019
Historically yes (and this is the origin of the term), but the term is widely used for rooms without that now.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 84
Mar 28, 2019
Okay. I was actually just watching a clip of some UK medical drama in which they called a closed OR an operating theater, so it appears that I was mistaken. Twice in the same comments section. I think in the US they still use the term operating theater exclusively to refer to ORs with an observation area.
CardinalSin
+1
Level 75
Feb 9, 2020
My nitpicking comment of the day: kalbahamut, it seems unlikely that a UK drama would refer to an operating "theater", since in English, the word is "theatre".
kalbahamut
+1
Level 84
Feb 9, 2020
it was spoken, not written English, and they pronounced it like the Americans spell it.
EcceHomo
+1
Level 75
Oct 1, 2020
Not quite. It would be non-rhotic.
TheCrusher
+3
Level 72
Mar 21, 2019
Took me forever to figure out how to write "Resuscitate"... Maybe a bit more leeway on that answer?
Freestatebear
+1
Level 83
Dec 26, 2020
I had the same problem! That was the only one that took me a number of guesses to hit the right spelling.
Jeffro
+1
Level 75
Mar 22, 2019
RN here. My hospital system uses ED over ER. Kalba, Fairfax hospital is in my old hometown. Been there numerous times, fortunately only as a visitor.
ChallengeMaster
+2
Level 28
May 27, 2020
I'm 14 and only got 5 wrong. Learnt most of these from watching 'inside the ambulance', 'operation ouch' and YouTube.
tillydog2015
+1
Level 27
Apr 26, 2021
Can you add OCD? and make it stand for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Bengus
+1
Level 53
Aug 18, 2021
It is not EKG in the UK. It is ECG. You need to stipulate this is a USA version.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 84
Sep 13, 2021
Reading the comments before commenting could help avoid things like this in the future.
spethspeth
+1
Level 65
Sep 13, 2021
CDC is US-centric.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 84
Sep 13, 2021
It's in the US. But I've seen it referenced in international media plenty of times. Just like I've seen the WHO and NHS referenced many times outside of Switzerland and the UK.
Rozzi
+1
Level 59
Sep 13, 2021
A&E perhaps?
JWatson24
+1
Level 71
Sep 13, 2021
Can you please accept "vascular disease" for VD? I think that's more common/well-known that venereal disease.
ShievaAndGolly
+1
Level 52
Jan 10, 2022
Is this broken? It won't accept anything after the first three.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jan 10, 2022
Works for me.
MalyJacus
+1
Level 53
Aug 5, 2022
EKG is more of a European term, in the US it's ECG, though I still do see it sometimes among the old textbooks. Venereal disease is a WAY outmoded term, that no one ever uses and borders on offensive. You still see it in medical history texts say about the tuskeegee experiments but otherwise everyone just uses STD. Instead I would suggest HSV for "Herpes Simplex Virus" that's related and much more topical, or maybe COVID?
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