We know that an acronym is a word (or abbreviation) formed by the first letters or syllables of other words. Most acronyms are expressed in uppercase letters, although that is not always the case: scuba and laser are so well known to us that they have become accepted as words in their own right.

In the medical field there are many, oh so many, acronyms. Some of them are common, and some not so common. That’s why it’s so important to know the context in which they are used, because they may be spelled identically, but mean quite different things.

Here are some medical acronyms I’m sure you are familiar with:

AMA: Against medical advice
CAT: Computerized axial tomography
COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging

Let’s take the acronym MRI. Most of us know the meaning I just mentioned, but did you know that it may also stand for “Medical Research Institute” or “Medical records information”? As many common acronyms can be misinterpreted, context is everything in our field. I’m sure you already know that!

We face a similar challenge in Spanish, take CEA for instance. Do you know what it stands for? Let me throw in a few suggestions:

I bet you didn’t expect such a list. Cosnautas has a growing list of medical acronyms and their possible meanings! It includes the country in which they are used and, in some cases, their equivalent in English. You can check it out here: http://www.cosnautas.com/es/siglas. This is a great resource for us translators as it saves us a lot of time in research and it’s a highly reliable source. If you were not yet aware that this wonderful tool existed, I hope you will start using it in your next assignment!

Deciphering acronyms is one of the most time-consuming part of the translation process. Here are some other strategies you may use: 

• The acronym might be in English already! You can check out The Clinician’s Ultimate Reference (from Detroit VA Medical Center) or Your Dictionary.com. Both are good resources for English medical abbreviations.
• Post the abbreviation in translators’ terminology forums to see if a colleague can help.
• Once you discover what the acronym or abbreviation stands for in your source language, try to find the equivalent in your target language. Type in the meaning in Google, together with the word abbreviation.
  If you can’t find the target abbreviation, you may reflect the meaning rather than inventing an abbreviation yourself (as its meaning will be known only to you!).
• Look for other clues on the document itself. Its meaning might appear on the following pages, one never knows!
• Simply ask the client. They may be familiar with the acronym or abbreviation, unless they are the patient or an agency.
• Let’s not forget that this may be an in-house term. You can call the hospital or medical office in question (their contact information is often on the report itself) and solve this in a few minutes. Explain to them that you need to find out the meaning of the abbreviation, without disclosing the patient’s identity.

How about you? Are there any strategies or recommendations you’d like to share?