Diagnosis Abbreviations

A medical diagnosis is the method of determining what illness explains a person’s symptoms or signs. The term “diagnosis” is most often used without any mention of the medical context. A history and physical examination of the person seeking health care provide the information necessary for diagnosis.

After you pass this quiz, you will be familiar with the medical terms associated with diagnosis.

Quick Review for the Quiz
Abbreviation Meaning
ABC Aspiration Biopsy Cytology
AFP Alpha-fetoprotein
BS Bowel Sound
mets metastasis
PCA Patient-Controlled Analgesia
EBL Estimated Blood Loss
I & D Incision & Drainage
NSS Normal Saline Solution
DC, d/c Discontinue or Discharge
Dx Diagnosis

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the medical abbreviation.

    • Aspiration biopsy cytology
    • Aspiration biopsy cytosine
    • Aspiration biopsy carcinoma
    • Aspiration biopsy calcium

    Correct Wrong

    Aspiration Biopsy Cytology (ABC) is done with a needle to get cells from a lesion. It's used to diagnose what's going on with different types of tumors.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the medical abbreviation.

    • Alpha-fetoprotein
    • Alpha-fetopain
    • Alpha-fetoproactive
    • Alpha-fetopalpate

    Correct Wrong

     Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a protein that develops in the liver of a developing fetus. A percentage of AFP crosses the placenta and into the mother's blood during pregnancy.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the medical abbreviation.

    • Bowel sounds
    • Bacterial sounds
    • Balance sounds
    • Barium sounds

    Correct Wrong

    A bowel sound (BS) is produced by the activity of the intestines as they push the food through. While most of the time, bowel sounds are harmless, there are some instances when an abnormal sound can indicate that there is an issue.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the medical abbreviation.

    • Metastasis
    • Methicillin
    • Methadone
    • Metrorrhagia

    Correct Wrong

     Metastasis (mets) is the spread of cancer cells between organs or tissues, typically via the blood or lymph system.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the medical abbreviation.

    • Patient-controlled analgesia
    • Patient-controlled absorption
    • Patient-controlled antibiotic
    • Patient-controlled anticoagulant

    Correct Wrong

    The patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) approach is a type of pain relief that enables a person suffering from pain to manage it by themselves. Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) involves a computerized pump with a syringe containing pain medication directly connected to an intravenous (IV) line.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the medical abbreviation.

    • Incision and drainage
    • Incision and decoction
    • Incision and decongestant
    • Incision and defibrillation

    Correct Wrong

    Incision & drainage (I & D) is a treatment for an abscess, which is a collection of pus. The incision is a cut made to get to the abscess, and the drainage is when pus is removed.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the medical abbreviation.

    • Estimated blood loss
    • Estimated bile loss
    • Estimated basilar loss
    • Estimated benign loss

    Correct Wrong

    Estimated blood loss (EBL) is a crucial tool for making clinical decisions and assessing the outcome of surgery. During surgery, it helps guide transfusion therapy and provides insight into perioperative risks and possible long-term outcomes.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the medical abbreviation.

    • Normal saline solution
    • Normal solvent solution
    • Normal saturated solution
    • Normal secretion solution

    Correct Wrong

    The normal saline solution (NSS) is made up of a combination of sodium chloride (salt) and water. The common use of this supplement is the treatment and management of dehydration, one of its many uses.

  • Question of

    Find the meaning of the medical abbreviation.

    • Discharge or discontinue
    • Degenerative combination
    • Distance charge
    • Discard

    Correct Wrong

    Depending on how it is used, DC can refer to a discharge or discontinuation. In a medical setting, discontinue (DC) typically refers to stopping a particular medication treatment for a patient either by the clinician or by the patient themselves. A discharge (DC), on the other hand, is the act of releasing a patient from a hospital or health care facility formally terminating their care.

  • Question of

    Identify the medical abbreviation.

    • Diagnosis
    • Dyspnea
    • Diabetes
    • Dyskinesia

    Correct Wrong

    (Dia/gnos/is = dia- is a prefix that means through, gnos is a word root for "knowledge", -is a noun ending suffix with no specific meaning.) Diagnosis refers to the process of determining a disease, condition, or injury based on the symptoms.