Every visit to the vet is recorded in the pet's record including symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. One of the things I ask of my veterinarian is a photocopy of each of my pet's medical records after each visit. If a test is performed such as blood work or a culture, I also receive a photocopy of the actual test results. These copies of medical records become a permanent part of each pet's home record file.

I always take the time to read these records... to try to understand the course of medical care my pet is receiving. I have learned a lot from these records and they make a terrific reference to refer back to from time to time.

The one challenge I have found, other than actually reading my vet's writing :-), is understanding some of the medical abbreviations used in the records.

So... just in case you were wondering, here are some of the most common short forms and their meanings
TERM: MEANING:

1. ADR= ain't doing right - A generic term for a sick animal for which there is not yet a diagnosis

2. HBC= hit by car - of course this will never apply to one of my dogs or cats unless something goes VERY wrong...

3. IU = international units - unit of measure for some vitamins & medications

4. ABX= antibiotic therapy/treatment

5. IM= intramuscular (injections)

6. IV= intravenous (injections)

7. SC= subcutaneous - under the skin, also SQ

How Often To Give A Medication

8. PRN= as needed

9. "q" = every: example... q2h = every 2 hours

10. sid= once daily

11. bid= twice daily

12. tid = three times daily

13. PO= per os: give it by mouth

14. cbc =complete blood count

15. pcv =packed cell volume (% measure of red cells in circulation)

16. rbc= red blood cell

17. wbc= white blood cell

18. bun =blood urea nitrogen - chemical measured in the blood, normally filtered out by the kidneys. An elevated bun indicates dehydration or decreased kidney function

19. OD =right eye

20. OS =left eye

21. OU =both eyes

22. MLV =modified live virus (vaccine type)

23. KV =killed virus (vaccine type), also K

Thank you! you never know when you might need this info. something to hold on.

Your very welcome :-))

I just love when I get informative emails like these. If I get anything else like this I will share it with you all too.. :-))

Actually, I've been online about all day clearing out my email box and answering them, etc. Shoo..

Dreamz

My friend said she is going to send me some more abbrev. for medical terms within the next day or so. As soon as she does I'll include them here :-))

1. ADR= ain't doing right - A generic term for a sick animal for which there is not yet a diagnosis


I love that one! Do you think I could use it at the hospital?! I know a lot of these form their but we are supposed to right daily out now because people were confusing it.Same with the eyes. the old docs still use it anyway,along with a bunch of other stuff they don't bother to teach us in school!

***Edited By: joce on 8/18/2005 4:24:22 PM***
Reason: n

I think every clinic has ther own set od Abbrev's
"O" Is owner
"BO" Bad owner (usually connected with verbally abusive owners who could care less about the health of their pet)
"VBA" Very bad Attitude(Behavior issues)
"BA" Bad attitude(animal) a little grummpy
Just a few of ones we use alot of, of course not medical.
BM Bowel Movement
U Urine
A appetite

in our clinic we have colors to describe people. if the people are really nice they get a pink dot on their house card, if they are super nice they get a whole pink line. nasty owners get red dots and lines ( some peoples cards are entirely in red with exclamation points lol ) and weird people get orange dots and lines.

for the animals wwe just have the typical "will bite" or "caution" stickers on their file pages. with a little explanation next to it descivivng the situation in which they bit or what to watch out for.

Another one we use is U/A= urinalysis. We usually write in big letters "may bite" and highlight it. We also have Senior Pet stickers. They pretty much listed all the other abbreviations we use. Oh another one I thought of was AD=right ear, AS=left ear, AU=both ears. And NPO=nothing by mouth, as in no food or water, usually if a pet stays overnight before surgery they put a tag on their cage that says NPO.

***Edited By: gingerspice on 8/18/2005 9:26:02 PM***
Reason: edit