Medical abbreviations_B

Ba              barium

BAC          blood alcohol content

BAL           bronchoalveolar lavage; British anti-Lewisite; blood alcohol level

BAO          basic acid output

BAT           brown adipose tissue

BBB           bundle branch block

BBBL        left bundle branch block

BBBR        right bundle branch block

BBMF       "Bone break, me fix" (orthopedic consent form)

BCAA       branched chain amino acids

BCC          basal cell carcinoma; blind carbon copy

BCG          Bacille Calmette-Guerin (a tuberculosis vaccination)

BCP           birth control pill

BCX/ BCx blood culture

BD             bipolar disorder; twice a day (from Latin bis in die)

b.d.            twice a day (from Latin bis in die)

BDD          body dysmorphic disorder

BDI            Beck Depression Inventory

BE             barium enema

BEE           basal energy expenditure

bid             twice a day

Bilat eq       bilaterally equal

BiPAP        bilevel positive airway pressure

BiVAD       bilateral ventricular assist device (left and right)

BK             bradykinin

BKA          below the knee amputation

BM            bone marrow or bowel movement

BMC         bone mineral content

BMD         bone mineral density (also termed bone mass measurement)

BMI           body mass index

BMP          blood metabolic profile

BMR          basal metabolic rate

BMT          bone marrow transplantation

BO             bowel open

B/O            because of

BOA          born out of asepsis

BOI           born on island (i.e., a local patient)

BOM         bilateral otitis media

BOOP       bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia

BP             blood pressure

BPAD        bipolar affective disorder

BPD           biparietal diameter

BPD           borderline personality disorder

BPH           benign prostatic hypertrophy                   

BPM          beats per minute

BR             bedrest; bathroom

BRATY     another version of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, (dry) toast, yogurt (helps digestion in some GI disorders)

BRB           bright red blood (color is important as an indicator of source, for example in gastrointestinal bleeding)

BRBPR      bright red blood per rectum

BRP           bathroom priviledges

BS             bowel or breath sounds

BT             bleeding time

BTL           bilateral tubal ligation

BTP           breakthrough pain

BUN          blood urea nitrogen

BV             bacterial vaginosis

BVP           biventricular pacing (see artificial pacemaker)

BW            body weight

BX             biopsy