Medical Terminology / Unit 15 MedTerm 0963 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Ambiguous Abbreviation
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The idea
An ambiguous abbreviation is one that stands for more than one thing, so its meaning depends on who reads it.
In practice
The same three letters can name different things in different departments of one hospital.
Where people slip
Ambiguity is not resolved by context as reliably as writers assume.
Your place on the trail
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