Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: medical acronyms

  • Observations on acronyms

    JMS PearceHull, England, United Kingdom When Prime Minister David Cameron recently thought that LOL meant lots of love, not laugh out loud, he appeared out of touch. (The Guardian, May 11, 2012) He illustrated the difficulties that acronyms can cause. But acronyms are not new. The Romans used SPQR to abbreviate Senatus populusque Romanus, inscribed…