Many Centuries ago, all the prescriptions were written in Latin words. Prescription Abbreviations are also known as Pharmacy Sig Codes in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Nowadays these prescription abbreviations are only used for the drug’s directions.
Medical practitioners or physicians use this prescription in short form or Sig codes. The Pharmacists need to remember all the pharmacy sig codes listed.
Recently Doctor prescription abbreviations in India have been started electronically, so the use of sig code charts highly decreasing. But still, every Pharmacist and Pharmacy technician should remember the Pharmacy Prescription Abbreviations.
In this article, we will discuss the top pharmacy abbreviations healthcare providers use on prescriptions and help you translate them. Also, discuss here the steps you should take to protect yourself from prescription errors.
The Origin of Rx as a Prescription Abbreviation
Rx symbols are represented as part of a prescription included in Superscription which is written before writing a prescription. Rx is a prescription abbreviation of the Latin word recipe, which means ‘You Take’ (Take thou).
In the olden days, the Rx symbol was considered to have originated from the sign of the Roman deity Jupiter, the God of healing. This Jupiter symbol was committed by the ancient in requesting, God for the quick recovery of the patient’s diseases.
List of Prescription Abbreviations or Sig Codes
This is a Pharmacy dosage abbreviation used in medical prescriptions, including hospital orders. This dosage abbreviations chart does not include abbreviations for drug name suffixes such as CD, ER, or XT.
Here we also provide a Prescription Abbreviations pdf which is helpful for you to summarise all the prescription symbols together.
You can see another article where we give the top 5 free apps for pharmacy students from there you should be able to download the Pharmacy Sig Codes App which is very helpful for remembering prescription abbreviations.
Latin Terms and Abbreviations Symbols Used in Prescription Writing
Various prescription abbreviations RX are used during the prescription being written. Below we are providing more than 120+ prescription abbreviations lists, Some are used too much, and some are used too little.
All Pharmacy Abbreviations are classified into different categories like Kinds of preparation, Methods of Administration, Time of Administration, and Use in body parts so you find them accordingly depending on your necessity.
An Example of Prescription Abbreviations
You may have seen in prescriptions the letters like b.i.d, hs, q.i.d, and o.d on your prescriptions. These are the prescription abbreviations uk for Latin phrases.
Here is an example of an Rx medical prescription of a healthcare provider that might be written on a prescription, it should be written in small letters or capital letters.
Sig: 1 tab PO qid pc & hs
These abbreviations are the instructions for patients taking the medication from the pharmacist. In this case, the direction can be read as: “Take one tablet by mouth four times a day, after meals at bedtime.”
Kinds Of Preparation
| Latin Term | Abbreviations | Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| Auristille | collect | Ear drops |
| Capsula | caps | A capsule |
| Cataplasma | cataplasm | A poultice |
| Charta | chart | A powder |
| Collutorium | collar | A mouth wash |
| Collyrium | A cye wash | cream |
| Cremor | Emulsion | A cream |
| Houston | An emulsion | |
| Injections | ht | A drought |
| in | Insufflation | An injection |
| Location | insuff | An insufflation |
| Linctus | lin | A linctus |
| Linimentum | lin | A liniment |
| Liquor | liq | A solution |
| A Mistura | lot | A lotion |
| Mistura | m, mist | Marist |
| Naristillae | pill | Nasal drops |
| Nebula | neb | A spray solution |
| Pasta | past | A paste |
| Pilula | pull | A pill |
| Pulvis | Solution | powder |
| suppose | sol | A solution |
| Suppositorium | suppos | A suppository |
| Tabella | tab | A tablet |
| Unguentum | ung | An ointment |
Methods of Administration
| Latin Term | Abbreviations | Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| Applicants | addend | To be added |
| applicant | Application | To be applied |
| copied | – | Let (him) apply |
| Capiendus | and | To be taken |
| Dandus | African | To be given |
| Deglutiendus | deglut | To be swallowed |
| Infricandus | inhale | To be subbed in |
| Inhaletur | missed | Let (it) be inhaled |
| Miscendus | U or tend | To be mixed |
| Signa | sin | Label |
| Sumendus | S or sum | To be taken |
| Utendus | U or utend | To be used |
Time of Administration
Medication administration abbreviations are listed below in different categories like times per day, different times of the day, hour time, correlated time, etc. Time is a crucial factor in the administration of drugs.
Times Per Day
| Latin Term | Abbreviations | Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| Semel in die | sem in die | Once a day |
| Bis in die, Bis die | bid., b.d. | Twice a day |
| Ter in die | ti.d., Ld. | Three times a day |
| sex. i.d. | qi.d., q.d. | Four times a day |
| Sexics in die | sex.i.d. | Six times a day |
Different Time of the Day
| Latin Term | Abbreviations | Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| Primo mane | prim. m | Early in the morning |
| Mane | m | In the morning |
| Omni mane | O.m. | Note |
| Omni nocte | O.n. | Every night |
| Inter nocte | inter nocte | During the night |
| hentai | – | At night |
| Inter noctem | inter nocte | During the night |
| Jentaculum | Night and morning | Breakfast |
| Nocte et mane | n.et.m | Note maneque |
| Note manque | n.m. | Night and morning |
Hour Time
| Latin Term | Abbreviations | Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| Omni hora | o.h. | Every hour |
| Omni quarta hora | o.q.h. | Every fourth hour |
| Singulis horis | sing. hora | Every hour |
| Alternis horis | alt. hor. | Every two hours |
| Tertis horis | tert. hor. | Every three hours |
| Quartis horis | quart. hor. | Every four hours |
| Sextis horis | sext. hor. | Every six hours |
Correlated Time
| Latin Term | Abbreviations | Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| Post Cabos | a.c. | Before meals |
| Inter class | p.c. | After meals |
| Inter cibos | i.c. | Between meals |
Other Terms
| Latin Term | Abbreviations | Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| dol. urg | More dicta | When the pain is severe |
| Frequenter | freq | Frequently |
| Lente | – | Slowly |
| Mode dicta | m.d. | As directed |
| truss. urg. | m.d. | As directed |
| Si opus sit | S.O.S. | When required or When necessary |
| Statim | stat. | Immediately |
| Tussi urgent | tuss. urg. | When the cough is troublesome |
Prescription Abbreviations For Vehicles Used
| Latin Term | Abbreviations | Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| coach- amp | coach- mag | One tablespoonful |
| Cochleane- magnum | coach- max | One tablespoonful |
| Cochleane- maximum | Cum Duplo | One tablespoonful |
| Cochleare medium | coch. med. | One dessertspoonful |
| Cochleare minimum | coch. min. | One teaspoonful |
| Cum | c | With |
| Cum parte acquire | C. dup. | With twice as much |
| Cyathus Magnus | C. pt. aeq. | With an equal quantity |
| Cum tanto | c. tant. | With as much |
| Cyathus amplus | cyath. amp | A tumbler |
| cath. mag. | cyath. VIN. | A tumbler |
| A wine glass | A wine glass | A winc glass |
| E.lacte | e. lact. | With milk |
| Ex.aqua | ex. aq. | With water |
Used For Parts of Body
| Latin Term | Abbreviations | Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| Auris dexter | a.d. | To right ear |
| Oculis leaves | a.l. | To left car |
| Brachis | brach. | To the body |
| Jugulo | jug. | To the throat |
| Naso | – | To the nose |
| Oculis dexter | o.d. | To right eye |
| For the eyes | o.l | To left eye |
| Os, oris | O.S. | To mouth |
| Pro oculus | For the eyes | For the cyes |
| Sterno | sten | To the chest |
Miscellaneous Prescription Abbreviations
| Latin Term | Abbreviations | Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| Ad | ad. | To, upto |
| Ana | ãa, aa | Of cach |
| Ante | a | Before |
| Aqua | aq | Water |
| Aqua distilata | aq. dest. | Distilled water |
| Cibos | cibos | Meals, food |
| Fiat | ft. | Makce, let it be made |
| Gutta, guttae | gtt. | More dicta |
| Hora | h | An hour |
| Laevo | l | 7Left |
| Misce | m | Mix, let it be mixed |
| Mitte | mitt. | Send |
| Mitte tales | mitt tal | Send such |
| on | m.dict. | In the manner prescribed |
| Omni | Quantum sufficient | Every |
| Pro dosi | – | As a dose |
| tall | q.s. | As much as is sufficient |
| Recipe | Rx | Take |
| Semi | ss | Half |
| Solve | – | Dissolve |
| Talis, tales | tal | Such |
Numericals Prescription Abbreviations
| Latin Word | Roman Symbol | Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| Unus | I | One |
| Duo | II | Two |
| Tres | III | Three |
| Quatuor | IV | Four |
| Quinque | V | Five |
| Sex | VI | Six |
| Septem | VII | Seven |
| Octe | VIII | Eight |
| Novem | IX | Nine |
| Decem | X | Ten |
| Undecim | XI | Eleven |
| Undecim | XII | Twelve |
| Duodecim | XIII | Thirteen |
| Quatuordecim | XIV | Fourteen |
| Quindecim | XV | Fifteen |
| Viginti | XX | Twenty |
| Quinguaginta | L | Fifty |
| Centum | C | One Hundred |
Most Commonly Used Abbreviations
| Latin Term | Abbreviations | Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| Post Cabos | a.c. | Before meals |
| Quarter in die | p.c. | After meals |
| Bis in die, Bis die | b.i.d. | Twice a day |
| Ter in die | t.i.d. | Three times a day |
| Quantum sufficient | q.i.d. | Four Times a day |
| Quantum sufficiat | q.s. | As much as sufficient |
| Oculis dexter | o.d. | Right eye |
| Omni hora | o.h. | Every hour |
Declining Uses of Abbreviations
Recently the use of Latin words in prescriptions are highly reduced by medical practitioners. It becomes more common for healthcare providers to write prescriptions in the English language.
For example, the abbreviation QD, which means daily, if mistakenly written qid, means four times a day. The same case would happen for o.d., which means the right eye. If simply writing OD, which means once daily.
Plain English language written prescriptions are easy to read than Latin phrases. It also helps prevent medication errors. That’s why medical professionals use sig pharmacy abbreviations to prevent hard-to-read problems.
FAQs Related to Prescription Abbreviations
Q1. What is the meaning of BD and OD in prescription?
Ans. BD meaning in prescription is that the medicine should be taken twice daily. In prescription used OD, the full form is ‘Once in a day. OD means in the prescription that the prescribed medication should be taken once daily.
Q2. What are common medical abbreviations?
Ans. The most common prescription abbreviations are a.c, p.c, b.d, od, hs, q.i.d, t.i.d, etc.
Q3. What TDS means in medicine?
Ans. The full form of TDS is ‘ter in die’. TDS medical abbreviations mean the prescribed medication should be taken thrice daily.
Q6. I want medicine to be purchased on a previous prescription what abbreviation should be mentioned on the prescription?
Ans. Basically, in these cases, no prescription sig abbreviations are not used. Generally such types of instructions “same as previous” or “repeat” are seen in common prescriptions.
Q7. How do you memorize pharmacy abbreviations?
Ans. Pharmacy sig codes pdf memorizing is not an easy task. But those who are preparing for PTCB or ExCPT exams they should need to memorize. Some of the tips are given below which may help you memorize the Pharmacology terminology list of prescription abbreviations. Those are:
• When you see the O letter, remember this is an eye that is also round.
• When you see the BD letter, remember that the bi means two.
• When you see ac and pc, remember that P for the post, which means after, and then rests ac means before.
Final Thoughts
Prescription Abbreviations or Pharmacy Sig Codes used in prescriptions are important for Pharmacists and Health Care providers to memorize or learn the chart. We covered all the necessary Abbreviations in Latin words with suitable meanings.