A-C

• @ — at
• A & P — anatomy and physiology
• ab — abortion
• ABG — arterial blood gas
• abd — abdominal
• a.c. — before meals
• ac & cl — acetest and clinitest
• ACLS — advanced cardiac life support
• AD — right ear
• ADL — activities of daily living
• ad lib — as desired
• adm — admission
• afeb — afebrile, no fever
• AFB — acid-fast bacillus
• AKA — above the knee
• alb — albumin
• alt dieb — alternate days (every other day)
• am — morning
• AMA — against medical advice
• amal — amalgam
• amb — ambulate, walk
• amt — amount
• AOx3 — alert and oriented to person, time, and place
• ant — anterior
• AMI — acute myocardial infarction
• Ap — apical
• AP — apical pulse
• ANS — automatic nervous system
• approx — approximately
• aq — aqueous
• ARDS — acute respiratory distress syndrome
• AS — left ear
• ASA — aspirin
• asap (ASAP) — as soon as possible
• as tol — as tolerated
• ATD — admission, transfer, discharge
• AU — both ears
• Ax — axillary
• BE — barium enema
• bid — twice a day