Endocrinology & Diabetes Abbreviations
64 abbreviations · part of Medical Abbreviations
Abbreviations for diabetes, glucose monitoring and insulin delivery, thyroid and parathyroid disease, adrenal and pituitary disorders, and the hormones and tests used to diagnose them. Diabetes terminology has changed over time: IDDM and NIDDM gave way to type 1 and type 2 diabetes in 1997, and in 2022 diabetes insipidus was proposed to be renamed arginine vasopressin deficiency. Several short forms, such as DM, GD, CS and GAD, have other meanings in other specialties, so entries note how to tell them apart.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ACTH | Adrenocorticotropic hormone | Pituitary hormone that stimulates the adrenal cortex to produce cortisol. |
| ADH | Antidiuretic hormone | Hormone made in the hypothalamus and released from the posterior pituitary that makes the kidneys retain water, concentrating urine. |
| AI | Adrenal insufficiency | Inadequate production of cortisol, and sometimes aldosterone, by the adrenal glands. |
| AID | Automated insulin delivery | System that links a continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump through an algorithm that adjusts insulin delivery automatically every few minutes. |
| AVP-D | Arginine vasopressin deficiency | New name, proposed in 2022, for central diabetes insipidus: inadequate vasopressin release from the hypothalamus or posterior pituitary leading to dilute urine and… |
| CAH | Congenital adrenal hyperplasia | Group of inherited enzyme defects in cortisol synthesis, about 95 percent from 21-hydroxylase deficiency. |
| CGM | Continuous glucose monitor | Wearable sensor inserted under the skin that measures interstitial glucose every few minutes and sends readings to a receiver, phone or insulin pump. |
| CS | Cushing's syndrome | Condition caused by prolonged excess cortisol, producing weight gain in the face and trunk, purple stretch marks, easy bruising, muscle weakness, high blood pressure… |
| CSII | Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion | Insulin therapy delivered by a pump that infuses rapid-acting insulin under the skin through a small cannula, with a programmable background (basal) rate and… |
| DFU | Diabetic foot ulcer | Open wound on the foot of a person with diabetes, usually from pressure or injury on a numb foot, sometimes with poor circulation. |
| DI | Diabetes insipidus | Disorder of water balance producing large volumes of dilute urine and intense thirst, caused either by deficient vasopressin release from the pituitary (central) or… |
| DKA | Diabetic ketoacidosis | Life-threatening complication of insulin deficiency in which the body burns fat for fuel, producing ketone acids that cause metabolic acidosis along with high glucose… |
| DM | Diabetes mellitus | Group of metabolic diseases marked by chronically high blood glucose from defective insulin secretion, insulin action or both. |
| DPN | Diabetic peripheral neuropathy | Nerve damage from diabetes that typically starts in the toes and feet and spreads upward in a "stocking-glove" pattern, causing numbness, tingling or burning pain. |
| DST | Dexamethasone suppression test | Test in which the synthetic steroid dexamethasone is given, typically 1 mg at 11 p.m., and cortisol is measured the next morning. |
| FNA | Fine-needle aspiration | Biopsy technique using a thin needle, often under ultrasound guidance, to withdraw cells from a lump for cytology. |
| FPG | Fasting plasma glucose | Blood glucose measured after at least eight hours without calories. |
| FSH | Follicle-stimulating hormone | Gonadotropin that stimulates ovarian follicle growth in women and sperm production in men. |
| GAD | Glutamic acid decarboxylase (autoantibody) | Enzyme in pancreatic beta cells and nerve cells; antibodies against its 65 kDa form (GAD65) are the most common islet autoantibodies in type 1 diabetes and LADA. |
| GD | Graves' disease | Autoimmune disease in which antibodies stimulate the TSH receptor, causing hyperthyroidism, a diffuse goiter and, in some patients, thyroid eye disease and pretibial… |
| GDM | Gestational diabetes mellitus | Diabetes first diagnosed in the second or third trimester of pregnancy that was not clearly present before. |
| GH | Growth hormone | Pituitary hormone that drives childhood growth and regulates body composition, fat metabolism and bone in adults, acting largely through IGF-1 made in the liver. |
| GHD | Growth hormone deficiency | Inadequate growth hormone production from pituitary or hypothalamic disease, congenital defects, tumors, surgery or radiation. |
| GMI | Glucose management indicator | Estimate of the A1C expected from a person's average CGM glucose over at least 14 days, calculated with a standard formula. |
| HHNK | Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic nonketotic state | Older name for HHS, also expanded as hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic coma. |
| HHS | Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state | Hyperglycemic emergency, usually in older adults with type 2 diabetes, defined by very high glucose (typically above 600 mg/dL), high serum osmolality and severe… |
| HPA | Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (axis) | Hormonal chain in which the hypothalamus releases CRH, prompting the pituitary to secrete ACTH, which drives cortisol production by the adrenal glands; cortisol then… |
| ICR | Insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio | Number of grams of carbohydrate covered by one unit of rapid-acting insulin, used to calculate meal doses in intensive insulin therapy. |
| IDDM | Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus | Former name for type 1 diabetes, introduced in a 1979 classification and used through the 1990s. |
| IFG | Impaired fasting glucose | Category of prediabetes defined by a fasting glucose between 100 and 125 mg/dL (ADA) or 110 and 125 mg/dL (WHO). |
| IGF-1 | Insulin-like growth factor 1 | Hormone produced mainly in the liver in response to growth hormone, which mediates many of GH's growth effects. |
| IGT | Impaired glucose tolerance | Prediabetes category defined by a 2-hour glucose of 140–199 mg/dL on a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test. |
| IR | Insulin resistance | Reduced response of muscle, liver and fat cells to insulin, so higher insulin levels are needed to control blood glucose. |
| ISF | Insulin sensitivity factor | Expected drop in blood glucose from one unit of rapid-acting insulin, used to calculate correction doses for high readings. |
| LADA | Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults | Slowly progressive autoimmune diabetes diagnosed in adults who initially do not need insulin, often mistaken for type 2 diabetes. |
| LH | Luteinizing hormone | Released by the anterior pituitary, this hormone triggers ovulation in women through a mid-cycle surge and stimulates testosterone production in men. |
| MDI | Multiple daily injections | Insulin regimen using a long-acting basal injection once or twice daily plus rapid-acting injections at meals and for corrections, usually at least three or four… |
| MEN | Multiple endocrine neoplasia | Inherited syndromes causing tumors in several endocrine glands. |
| MetS | Metabolic syndrome | Cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors diagnosed when at least three of five are present: large waist, triglycerides of 150 mg/dL or more, low HDL cholesterol, blood… |
| MNG | Multinodular goiter | Enlarged thyroid containing multiple nodules, common in older adults and in iodine-deficient regions. |
| MODY | Maturity-onset diabetes of the young | Group of inherited, single-gene forms of diabetes passed in an autosomal dominant pattern, usually appearing before age 25 in people without obesity or autoimmunity. |
| MTC | Medullary thyroid carcinoma | Thyroid cancer arising from the calcitonin-producing parafollicular C cells rather than follicular cells, making up a small minority of thyroid cancers. |
| NIDDM | Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus | Former name for type 2 diabetes, used from 1979 until 1997, describing patients who did not require insulin to prevent ketoacidosis. |
| OGTT | Oral glucose tolerance test | Test in which a fasting patient drinks a standard glucose load, usually 75 g, and blood glucose is measured two hours later. |
| PA | Primary aldosteronism | Excess aldosterone production by one or both adrenal glands, independent of renin, causing high blood pressure and sometimes low potassium. |
| PCOS | Polycystic ovary syndrome | Common hormonal disorder of reproductive-age women characterized by irregular or absent ovulation, excess androgens (acne, unwanted hair growth, raised testosterone)… |
| PHPT | Primary hyperparathyroidism | Overproduction of parathyroid hormone by the parathyroid glands themselves, usually from a single benign adenoma, causing high blood calcium. |
| PRL | Prolactin | Stimulates breast milk production and is secreted by lactotroph cells of the anterior pituitary; high levels suppress reproductive hormones, causing irregular periods… |
| PTC | Papillary thyroid carcinoma | The most common thyroid cancer, accounting for roughly 80 percent or more of cases, usually slow-growing with excellent survival. |
| PTH | Parathyroid hormone | Hormone from the four parathyroid glands that raises blood calcium by releasing calcium from bone, increasing kidney reabsorption and activating vitamin D. |
| RAI | Radioactive iodine | Iodine-131 given by mouth to destroy thyroid tissue, used to treat Graves' disease, toxic nodules and, after thyroidectomy, to ablate remnant tissue or treat metastatic… |
| RAIU | Radioactive iodine uptake | Nuclear medicine test measuring the percentage of an oral tracer dose of iodine (usually I-123) taken up by the thyroid after 4–6 and 24 hours, often combined with a… |
| SIADH | Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion | Disorder in which ADH is released despite low blood osmolality, causing water retention and euvolemic hyponatremia with inappropriately concentrated urine. |
| SMBG | Self-monitoring of blood glucose | Home glucose checks done by pricking a fingertip and applying a drop of blood to a test strip in a meter. |
| T1DM | Type 1 diabetes mellitus | Autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas, leaving the body unable to make insulin and requiring lifelong insulin therapy. |
| T2DM | Type 2 diabetes mellitus | The most common form of diabetes, about 90–95 percent of cases, caused by insulin resistance combined with progressive loss of insulin secretion. |
| T3 | Triiodothyronine | Active form of thyroid hormone, containing three iodine atoms. |
| T4 | Thyroxine | Main hormone secreted by the thyroid gland, containing four iodine atoms, which acts largely as a prohormone converted to active T3 in the tissues. |
| Tg | Thyroglobulin | Protein made only by thyroid tissue, used as a tumor marker after total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine for differentiated thyroid cancer. |
| TI-RADS | Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System | Ultrasound scoring system that assigns points for a thyroid nodule's composition, echogenicity, shape, margin and echogenic foci, sorting it into categories TR1… |
| TIR | Time in range | Percentage of continuous glucose monitor readings between 70 and 180 mg/dL, now a standard measure of diabetes control alongside A1C. |
| TPO | Thyroid peroxidase (antibodies) | Enzyme that helps make thyroid hormone; antibodies against it (anti-TPO) mark autoimmune thyroid disease and are found in most people with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. |
| TRT | Testosterone replacement therapy | Treatment of male hypogonadism with testosterone gels, injections, patches, pellets or oral capsules. |
| TSI | Thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin | Autoantibody that binds and activates the TSH receptor on thyroid cells, driving excess hormone production and gland growth in Graves' disease. |
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