| Abbreviation
|
Meaning
|
| Bx |
biopsy
|
| Ba |
barium
|
| BAC |
blood alcohol content
|
| BAD |
bipolar affective disorder
|
| BADLs |
basic ADLs
basic activities of daily living
|
| BAL |
bronchoalveolar lavage
British anti-Lewisite
blood alcohol level
|
| BAO |
basic acid output
|
| BAT |
brown adipose tissue
|
| BAV |
bicuspid aortic valve
|
| BBA |
bilateral breast augmentation
|
| BBB |
blood–brain barrier
|
| BBB L |
left bundle branch block
|
| BBB R |
right bundle branch block
|
| BBPS |
Boston Bowel Preparation Scale
|
| BBT |
basal body temperature
|
| BC |
bone conduction
blood culture
Board certified
|
| BCC |
basal cell carcinoma
blind carbon copy
|
| BCG |
bacille Calmette–Guérin (a tuberculosis vaccination)
|
| BCP |
birth control pill
|
| BCP |
blood chemistry profile |
|
BCX
BCx |
blood culture
|
| BDR |
Background Diabetic Retinopathy
|
| BBMF |
"bone break, me fix" (orthopedic consent form)
|
| BD |
bipolar disorder
twice a day (from Latin bis in die)
|
| BDD |
body dysmorphic disorder
|
| BDI |
Beck Depression Inventory
|
| BDS |
two times a day (from Latin bis die sumendus)
|
| BE |
barium enema
base excess
|
| BEAM |
A type of high-dose chemotherapy used to treat lymphoma prior to a stem cell transplant
|
| BEP |
bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (chemotherapy regimen)
|
| BF |
breastfeeding
|
| BFP |
bundle forming pilus
|
| BG |
blood glucose
|
| BGAT |
blood glucose awareness training (to help patients with diabetic hypoglycemia)
|
| BGL |
blood glucose level
|
| BIB |
brought in by
|
| BIBA |
brought in by ambulance
|
BID
bid
b.i.d. |
twice a day (from Latin bis in die)
|
| Bilat eq |
bilaterally equal
|
| BiPAP |
bilevel positive airway pressure
|
| BIS |
bispectral index
|
| BiVAD |
bilateral ventricular assist device (left and right)
|
| BK |
bradykinin
|
| BKA |
below-the-knee amputation
|
| b/l |
bilateral
|
| BL |
Burkitt's lymphoma
|
| bl.cult |
blood culture
|
| bld |
blood
|
| BLE |
Bilateral Lower Extremity (in/on both legs).
|
| BLS |
basic life support
|
| BM |
bone marrow
bowel movement
breast milk
Capillary blood glucose (British medical colloquialism originating from Boehringer Mannheim, a manufacturer of early glucose meters, today a part of Boehringer Ingelheim.)
|
| BMBx |
Bone marrow biopsy
|
| BMC |
bone mineral content
|
| BMD |
bone mineral density (also termed bone mass measurement)
|
| BMI |
body mass index
|
| BMP |
basic metabolic panel
|
| BMR |
basal metabolic rate
|
| BMS |
bare-metal stent
|
| BMT |
bone marrow transplantation
|
| BNO |
bowel not open
|
| BNP |
brain natriuretic peptide
|
| BO |
bowel open
|
| B/O |
because of
|
| BOA |
born out of asepsis
|
| BOI |
born on island (i.e. a local patient)
|
| BOLT |
Bilateral Orthotopic Lung Transplant
|
| BOM |
bilateral otitis media
|
| BOOP |
bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia
|
| BP |
blood pressure
British Pharmacopoeia
|
| BPAD |
bipolar affective disorder
|
| BPCA |
best pharmaceuticals for children act
|
| BPD |
biparietal diameter
borderline personality disorder
bronchopulmonary dysplasia
|
| BPES |
blepharophimosis, ptosis, epicanthus inversus syndrome
|
| BPH |
benign prostatic hyperplasia/benign prostatic hypertrophy
|
| BPM |
beats per minute
|
| BPP |
biophysical profile
|
| BPPV |
benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
|
| BPSD |
behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia
|
| BR |
bedrest
bathroom
|
| BRA |
bilateral renal agenesis
|
| BRAT |
The BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, toast (helps digestion in some GI disorders)
|
| BRATY |
another version of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, toast, yogurt (helps digestion in some GI disorders)
|
| BRB |
bright red blood (color is important as an indicator of source, for example in gastrointestinal bleeding)
|
| BRBPR |
bright red blood per rectum
|
BRCA1 (gene)
BRCA1 (protein) |
breast cancer 1 (a human gene and its protein)
|
BRCA2 (gene)
BRCA2 (protein) |
breast cancer 2 (a human gene and its protein)
|
| BRP |
bathroom privileges
|
| BRTO |
Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration
|
| BRVO |
Branch retinal vein occlusion
|
| BS |
barium swallow
breath
breath sound
bowel sounds (on auscultation using a stethoscope)
blood sugar
body secretions
|
| BS x 4 quads |
bowel signs in all 4 quadrants (also sometimes "BS + all 4 quads")
|
| BSx |
B-symptoms
|
| BSA |
body surface area
bovine serum albumin
|
| BSC |
bedside commode
|
| BSE |
bovine spongiform encephalopathy
breast self-examination
|
| BSL |
blood sugar level
|
| BSO |
bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy
|
| BSP |
bromsulphthalein
|
| BSU |
Bartholin, Skene and urethra (glands)
|
| BT |
bleeding time
brachytherapy
|
| BTB |
breakthrough bleeding of menstrual period
|
| BTL |
bilateral tubal ligation
|
| BTP |
breakthrough pain
|
| BTT |
bridge to transplantation
|
| BUN |
blood urea nitrogen
|
| BV |
bacterial vaginosis
|
| BVM |
bag valve mask (Ambu bag)
|
| BVP |
biventricular pacing (see artificial pacemaker)
bleomycin, vincristine, and cisplatin (chemotherapy regimen)
|
| BW |
blood work (blood tests)
birth weight
|
| BWS |
Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome
|
| Bx |
biopsy
|
| BZDs |
benzodiazepines
|