Back in the days, when the earth was drying after the global flood, we used to write prescriptions by hand. And if you've ever happened upon a handwritten one (maybe at the Smithsonian or at a local garage sale), you might be wondering what all the mumbo-jumbo was about. If that was the case, here's a little primer on what criptic words we use. It's helpful because since Latin is a dead language, there really isn't any variation in it. There is very little risk that you'll hear its way seeping through the vernacular in a local Hip Hop song. That also means that if I write a scrip (preSCRIPtion) for you, and let's say you want to fill it in ... I don't know ... Argentina, you should be able to without too much ado. And without further of that (the ado), here's a small primer on Medical Prescription lingo:
Prescription Abbreviations: Common Latin Rx Terms
ac (ante cibum) means "before meals"
bid (bis in die) means "twice a day"
gt (gutta) means "drop"
hs (hora somni) means "at bedtime"
od (oculus dexter) means "right eye"
os (oculus sinister) means "left eye"
po (per os) means "by mouth"
pc (post cibum) means "after meals"
prn (pro re nata) means "as needed"
q 3 h (quaque 3 hora) means "every 3 hours"
qd (quaque die) means "every day"
qid (quater in die) means "4 times a day"
Sig (signa) means "write"
tid (ter in die) means "3 times a day"
Now you can take your secret decoder table and find out what we're really saying!
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