| Abbrev. |
Meaning |
| c |
(c with a bar over it) with (from Latin cum) |
| C |
cytosine
cervical vertebrae |
| C1 |
atlas - first cervical vertebra of the spine |
| C2 |
axis - second cervical vertebra of the spine |
| C-section |
cesarean section |
| CA |
carcinoma
cancer |
| Ca |
calcium
carcinoma
cancer |
| CABG |
coronary artery bypass graft surgery (pronounced "cabbage") |
| CABP |
coronary artery bypass procedure |
| CAD |
coronary artery disease |
| CADASIL |
cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy |
| CAG |
coronary artery graft
coronary angiography |
| CAGS |
coronary artery graft surgery |
| cAMP |
cyclic adenosine monophosphate |
| CAH |
chronic active hepatitis
congenital adrenal hyperplasia |
| CAPD |
continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis |
| Caps |
capsule |
| CAT |
computed axial tomography |
| Cath |
catheter |
| CBC |
complete blood count |
| CBC/DIFF |
complete blood count/differential |
| CBD |
common bile duct |
| CBS |
chronic brain syndrome |
CC
cc |
cubic centimeter (use mL instead—see the do-not-use list)
chief complaint
cardiac catheter
carbon copy |
| CCCU |
critical coronary care unit |
CCE
C/C/E |
clubbing, cyanosis, and edema (general signs of cardiovascular disease) |
| CCF |
congestive cardiac failure |
| CCK |
cholecystokinin |
| CCK-PZ |
cholecystokinin-pancreozymin |
| CCR |
cardiocerebral resuscitation |
| CCU |
coronary care unit
critical care unit |
| CD |
Crohn's disease |
| CDH |
congenital dislocated hip |
| CDP |
cytosine diphosphate |
| CEA |
carcinoembryonic antigen
carotid endarterectomy
cost-effectiveness analysis |
| CF |
cystic fibrosis |
| CFA |
colonization factor antigen |
| CFIDS |
chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome |
| CFS |
chronic fatigue syndrome |
| CFTR |
cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator |
| cGMP |
cyclic guanosine monophosphate |
| CGN |
chronic glomerulonephritis |
| CH |
congenital hypothyroidism |
| CHD |
chronic heart disease |
| ChE |
cholinesterase |
| CHEM-7 |
a group of blood tests, commonly called a basic metabolic panel (blood urea nitrogen, carbon dioxide, creatinine, glucose, serum chloride, serum potassium, serum sodium) |
| CHEM-20 |
a group of blood tests (albumin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase, blood urea nitrogen, calcium - serum, serum chloride, carbon dioxide, creatinine, direct bilirubin, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, glucose test, lactate dehydrogenase, phosphorus - serum, potassium test, serum sodium, total bilirubin, total cholesterol, total protein, uric acid) |
| CHD |
coronary heart disease |
| CHE |
cholinesterase |
| CHF |
congestive heart failure |
| CHO |
carbohydrate |
| CHOP |
cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin (a.k.a. hydroxydaunorubicin), vincristine(a.k.a. Oncovin), prednisone (chemotherapy regimen) |
| Chol |
cholesterol |
| CHS |
cannulated hip screw |
| CHT |
congenital hypothyroidism |
| CI |
confidence interval
cardiac index |
| CICU |
cardiac intensive care unit |
| CIDP |
chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy |
| CIN |
cervical intraepithelial neoplasia |
| Circ |
circumcision
circulation |
| CIS |
carcinoma in situ |
| CJD |
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease |
| CK |
creatine kinase
creatinine phosphokinase (formerly CPK) |
| CKD |
chronic kidney disease |
| CKMB |
MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase |
| CLL |
chronic lymphocytic leukemia |
| CM |
Chirurgiae Magister, Master of Surgery (British and Commonwealth countries medical degree) |
| CMD |
cystic medial degeneration |
| CME |
continuing medical education |
| CML |
chronic myelogenous leukemia, also called chronic myeloid leukaemia |
| CMML |
chronic myelomonocytic leukemia |
| CMP |
complete metabolic panel
cytosine monophosphate |
| CMS |
chronic mountain sickness |
| CMT |
cervical motion tenderness |
| CMV |
cytomegalovirus |
| CN |
cranial nerves |
| CNS |
central nervous system
Crigler-Najjar syndrome |
| C/O |
complains of... |
| CO |
cardiac output
carbon monoxide
complains of... |
| COAD |
chronic obstructive airways disease |
| COCP |
combined oral contraceptive pill |
| COLD |
chronic obstructive lung disease |
| Comp |
compound |
| Conj |
conjunctiva |
| COPD |
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease |
| CO2 |
carbon dioxide |
| COX-1 |
cyclooxygenase 1 |
| COX-2 |
cyclooxygenase 2 |
| COX-3 |
cyclooxygenase 3 |
| CP |
cerebral palsy
chest pain |
| CPAP |
continuous positive airway pressure |
| CPC |
clinical pathological conference |
| CPE |
Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin |
| CPK |
creatine phosphokinase |
| CPKMB |
creatine phosphokinase heart |
| CPP |
cerebral perfusion pressure |
| CPR |
cardiopulmonary resuscitation |
| CPT |
Current Procedural Terminology |
| CR |
complete remission |
| Cr |
creatinine |
| CrCl |
creatinine clearance
(Note: Looks similar to, but does not mean, the chromium chlorides—CrCl2, CrCl3, CrCl4) |
| Creat |
creatinine |
| CREST |
calcinosis, Raynaud esophagus, sclerosis, teleangiectasiae |
| CRF |
chronic renal failure
corticotropin-releasing factor |
| CrGN |
crescentic glomerulonephritis |
| CRH |
corticotropin-releasing hormone |
| CRI |
chronic renal insufficiency |
| Crit |
hematocrit |
| CRP |
C-reactive protein |
| CRT |
cardiac resynchronization therapy (artificial pacemaker) |
CS
C/S |
Caesarean section |
| C&S |
culture and sensitivity (antibiogram) |
| C-spine |
cervical spine |
| CsA |
ciclosporin A |
| CSF |
cerebrospinal fluid
colony stimulating factor |
| CT |
computed tomography |
| CTA |
clear to auscultation
computed tomography angiography |
| CTP |
cytosine triphosphate
cytidine triphosphate
Child-Turcotte-Pugh score |
| CTS |
computed tomography scan |
| CTU |
cancer treatment unit |
| CTX |
ceftriaxone (a third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic)
contractions |
| CV |
cardiovascular |
| CVA |
cerebrovascular accident
costovertebral angle |
| CVAT |
costovertebral angle tenderness |
| CVC |
central venous catheter
chronic venous congestion |
| CVD |
cardiovascular disease |
| CVI |
cerebrovascular incident |
| CVP |
central venous pressure |
| CVS |
chorionic villus sampling
cardiovascular system |
| CVID |
common variable immunodeficiency |
| c/w |
consistent with |
| CWP |
coal worker's pneumoconiosis |
| Cx |
microbiological culture |
| CXR |
chest x-ray |
