Non-science abbreviations

• ca- -   (italic) circa (note no stop in contraction) 
• cf. --   (roman; not c.f.) 
• chap--.    chapter 
• DPhil--    (Oxford and Sussex) 
• Dr --   doctor (no stop) 
• ed. --   editor(s); eds not allowed 
• edn--    edition 
• e.g. --   (roman; not followed by comma) 
• eqn --   equation (e.g. eqn (1); eqns (4) and (7)) 
• etc.  --  et cetera 
• expt --   experiment (but Expt 1) 
• GmbH --   equivalent of Ltd in German 
• i.e.--    (roman; not followed by comma) 
• Jr --   junior (no stop) 
• Ltd --   limited (not Ltd.; cf. Inc.) 
• Mrs    ) --
• Mr    ) (no stop) 
• Ms    ) 
• NB --   nota bene (no stops) 
• no. or No.--  number(s) (no. of experiments, No. 2) 
• nos  --  plural of no. (no stop) 
• PhD --   no stops 
• plc --   public limited company 
• suppl.--    supplement 
• vol.--    volume 
• vs.--    (italic) versus 
• wt--    weight (NB: weight for weight is w/w not wt/wt) 

Medical Terms

• P  --  probability (p can be used if P is used for pressure, tension or permeability) 
• 2 CO P--     partial pressure of CO2 
• 2 O P--     partial pressure of O2 
• PBS --   phosphate-buffered saline 
• PC --   personal computer 
• PC12-- cells  phaeochromocytoma cells 
• pCa --   –log [Ca2+
• ] (or other ion) 
• PCR--    polymerase chain reaction 
• PGE--    prostaglandin E 
• PGF2 --   prostaglandin F2; also PGF2α 
• pHi--    intracellular pH 
• pHo --   extracellular pH (not pHe) 
• Pipes--    piperazine-N-N´-bis(2-ethanesulphonic acid); also 1,4-piperazinediethane 
•     sulphonic acid 
• Q10 --   temperature coefficient over a 10°C temperature range  
• r --   correlation coefficient 
• RNA--    ribonucleic acid 
• RT-PCR--  reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction 
• SBFI-- indicator 
• S.C. --   subcutaneous (small capitals) 
• SD --   standard deviation 
• SDS  --  sodium dodecyl sulphate 
• SDS-PAGE  --sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis 
• SE  --  standard error (used in regression analysis) 
• SEM --   standard error of the mean 
• SITS --   4-acetamido-4´-isothiocyanatostilbene-2,2´-disulphonic acid 
• Taps--    tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl-amino-propanesulphonic acid; 
•     also ([2-hydroxy-1,1-bis(hydroxymethyl)ethyl]amino)-1-propanesulphonic acid 
• TEA--    tetraethylammonium 
• Tes--    N-tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl-2-aminoethanesulphonic acid; 
•     2-{[2-hydroxy-1,1-bis(hydroxymethyl)ethyl]amino}ethanesulphonic acid 
• Tris --   tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane 
• TTX--    tetrodotoxin (tetrodioxin) 
• UV--    ultraviolet 
• V½--    membrane potential at half-maximal inactivation 
• Vmax--    maximal velocity (in Boltzmann equation) 
• VIP--    vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (as in ‘the peptide VIP’) 
• τ--    time constant 

Medical Terms

1. IgM --   immunoglobulin M 
2. InsP3--    inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (tris- not tri-) 
3. I.M--.    intramuscular (small capitals) 
4. I.P.--    intraperitoneal (small capitals) 
5. IPSC --   inhibitory postsynaptic current 
6. IPSP  --  inhibitory postsynaptic potential 
7. IR--    infrared 
8. i.u./IU--    international unit 
9. I.V. --   intravenous (small capitals) 
10.  
11. k--    Boltzmann steepness coefficient 
12. K½  --  reciprocal of [ion] required for half-maximal inhibition 
13. KD/Kd--    dissociation constant 
14. Ki
15.  --   inhibition constant (also dissociation constant for enzyme–inhibitor complex) 
16. Km--    Michaelis-Menten constant 
17. kb --   kilobases or kilobytes 
18. KIU --   kallikrein inhibition unit 
19. L-NAME  Nω
20. -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (D-isomer is inactive) 
21. log --   logarithm 
22. ln --   natural logarithm 
23.  
24. Mes --   2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulphonic acid 
25. ML --   mediolateral (brain co-ordinate) 
26. Mops --   3-(N-morpholino)propanesulphonic acid 
27. mRNA--    messenger RNA 
28. MS-222--    invertebrate anaesthetic (= tricaine) 
29. [Na+
30. ]i
31. , [Na+
32. ]o  intra- or extracellular Na+
33.  concentration 
34. NA --   numerical aperture 
35. NAD --   nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide 
36. NADH --   reduced form of NAD 
37. NMDA--    N-methyl-D-aspartate; also N-methyl-D-aspartic acid 
38. NMR--    nuclear magnetic resonance 
39. n.s.--    not significant 
40. nt--    nucleotide(s) 
41. o.d.--    outer diameter 

Medical Terms

• GABA--    γ-aminobutyric acid; also GABAA, GABAB for receptors 
• GDP-β-S 
• or GDPβS -- guanosine 5´-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) 
• GMP  --  guanosine monophosphate 
• GTP --   guanosine triphosphate 
• GTP-γ-S 
• or GTPγS--  guanosine 5´-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) 
• Hepes --   N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N´-2-ethanesulphonic acid 
• Hepps--    N-(hydroxy-2-ethyl)-piperazine-N´-propanesulphonic acid 
• HPLC--    high-pressure liquid chromatography 
• HRP--    horseradish peroxidase 
• 5-HT --   5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) 
• I.A---.    intra-arterial (small capitals) 
• IC50--    concentration giving 50% of maximal inhibition 
• ID50 --   dose giving 50% of maximal inhibition 
• i.d--.    internal diameter 
• Ig--    immunoglobulin 
• IgA --   immunoglobulin A 
• IgD --   immunoglobulin D 
• IgE--    immunoglobulin E 
• IgG--    immunoglobulin G (IgG1) 

Medical Terms Elaboration

• CNS --   central nervous system  
• DAT --   digital audiotape 
• DC--    direct current 
• DIDS --   4,4´-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2´-disulphonic acid 
• DMSO--    dimethyl sulphoxide 
• DNA--    deoxyribonucleic acid 
• DNase --   deoxyribonuclease (NB not DNAase) 
• DTL --electrode  named for Dawson,Trick & Litzkow (1979) 
• DTT--    dithiothreitol 
• DV  --  dorsoventral (brain co-ordinate) 
• EC50 --   median (or half-maximal) effective concentration 
• ECG--    electrocardiogram 
• ED50--    median (or half-maximal) dose 
• EDTA--    ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid 
• EEG --   electroencephalogram 
• EGTA--    ethyleneglycol-bis-(β-aminoethylether)-N,N,N´,N´-tetraacetic acid 
• EMF --   electromotive field 
• EMG --   electromyogram 
• EPSC--    excitatory postsynaptic current 
• EPSP --   excitatory postsynaptic potential 
• G protein (G-)  guanosine-binding protein 

 3G Technology.

1. AC--    alternating current 
2. ACh--    oxyacetylene 
3. ACSF--    artificial cerebral spinal fluid 
4. ACTH--    adrenocorticotrop(h)ic hormone 
5. A/D-- converter  analog–digital converter 
6. ADP--    adenosine diphosphate 
7. AMP --   adenosine monophosphate 
8. AMPA--    α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate 
9. AMPA/KA--  AMPA/kainate 
10. ANOVA--    analysis of variance 
11. AP--    anterioposterior (brain co-ordinate) 
12. ATP--    adenosine triphosphate 
13. ATPase--    adenosine triphosphatase 
14. AVP--    arginine vasopressin (as in ‘the peptide AVP’) 

AAL5    ATM Adaptation Layer 5

ABR      Associativity-based Routing

ACK      Acknowledgement 

ACM     Association for Computing Machinery

ADSL    Asymmetic Digital Subscriber Line

AF         Assured Forwarding 

AES       Advanced Encryption Standard

AMPS    Advanced Mobile Phone System

AM        Amplitude Modulation (Amplitude modulation)

AODV   AdHoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing Protocol

AP         Access Point

API       Application Programming Interface

ARP     Address Resolution Protocol

ARQ     Automatic Repeat Request

ASK      Amplitude Shift Keying (Amplitude numtastung)

ATIM   Ad-Hoc Tra c Indication Map

ATM     Asynchronous Transfer Mode

AuC      Authentication Center