Abbreviations, Acronyms and Initialism in the Medical literature.

Sampath Kumar KL

doi:10.5455/nmj/00000185

Abstract
Nowadays, there are so many abbreviations and acronyms are being used in day to day life. After the introduction of smart phones and invention of so many software applications for easy transmission of information the abbreviations and acronyms usage has become more and more in our daily life. Almost everyone owns smart phones and everyone is smart enough to be very active in various social media platforms. Hence for rapid transmission of information, newer abbreviations and acronyms are introduced almost on a daily basis.With the limited characters available on platforms like Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp, use of acronyms and abbreviations in everyday communication has become a routine.Similarly, nowadays, thetechnical fields are loaded with abbreviations and acronyms whose meanings experts take for granted. In a manuscript, it may be especially tempting to abbreviate terms to meet word count targets and to make otherwise long sentences more readable. However, abbreviation overuse can instead reduce readability, forcing a non-specialist reader to pause and refer back to the original definition. Especially, in academic writing, improper use of acronyms can detract from the clarity of ones writing. Having to puzzle through an abundance of abbreviations and acronyms can also be a deterrent for non-native English speakers and a shortcoming for peer reviewers. Most of the times, the acronyms and abbreviations used in the medical literature are unknown to many non-specialist readers and to know the meanings of these acronyms, the readers are forced to go on the web to understand really what they stand for. Some of these may be known to some specialists, and definitely not understood by all.

Key words: Abbreviations; Acronyms; Initialism; Medical literature.

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