Gastroenterology Abbreviations
85 abbreviations · part of Medical Abbreviations
Gastroenterology and hepatology abbreviations name digestive and liver diseases, endoscopic procedures, stool tests and GI symptoms found in clinic notes, endoscopy reports and discharge summaries. Several have changed recently: in 2023 international liver societies replaced NAFLD and NASH with MASLD and MASH. Short forms such as CD, BE, HH and PEG carry more than one GI meaning, so the surrounding report usually decides which is intended.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AH | Alcohol-associated hepatitis | Acute inflammatory liver injury in heavy drinkers, presenting with recent-onset jaundice, often fever and tender hepatomegaly, and an AST usually about twice the ALT. |
| AIH | Autoimmune hepatitis | Chronic immune-mediated inflammation of the liver marked by raised aminotransferases, elevated IgG, autoantibodies such as ANA or anti-smooth muscle antibody, and… |
| ALD | Alcohol-associated liver disease | Spectrum of liver injury caused by heavy drinking, from steatosis through alcohol-associated hepatitis to fibrosis and cirrhosis. |
| ALF | Acute liver failure | Rapid loss of liver function in a person without preexisting liver disease, defined by coagulopathy (INR of 1.5 or more) and any degree of encephalopathy within 26… |
| AP | Acute pancreatitis | Sudden inflammation of the pancreas, most often caused by gallstones or alcohol, diagnosed when two of three criteria are met: typical epigastric pain radiating to the… |
| APC | Argon plasma coagulation | Noncontact endoscopic technique that delivers electrical energy through ionized argon gas to coagulate tissue superficially. |
| BE | Barrett's esophagus | Condition in which the normal squamous lining of the lower esophagus is replaced by intestinal-type columnar cells, usually after years of reflux. |
| BRBPR | Bright red blood per rectum | Chart shorthand for fresh red blood passed from the rectum, alone or with stool. |
| CD | Crohn's disease | Chronic IBD that can affect any part of the digestive tract from mouth to anus, most often the terminal ileum and colon, with patchy "skip lesions" and full-thickness… |
| CHS | Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome | Repeated bouts of severe nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain in long-term, frequent cannabis users, often relieved by hot showers or baths. |
| CP | Chronic pancreatitis | Progressive inflammation and fibrosis of the pancreas that permanently destroys exocrine and endocrine tissue, causing chronic abdominal pain, malabsorption and diabetes. |
| CRC | Colorectal cancer | Cancer of the colon or rectum, usually arising from adenomatous or serrated polyps over about ten years. |
| CTC | Computed tomographic colonography | Low-dose CT scan of the gas-distended colon that creates two- and three-dimensional images to find polyps and cancers, often called virtual colonoscopy. |
| CTP | Child-Turcotte-Pugh score | Classification of cirrhosis severity from bilirubin, albumin, INR, ascites and encephalopathy, producing class A (5–6 points), B (7–9) or C (10–15). |
| CVS | Cyclic vomiting syndrome | Disorder of recurrent, stereotyped episodes of severe nausea and vomiting lasting hours to days, separated by symptom-free intervals. |
| DILI | Drug-induced liver injury | Liver damage caused by prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, herbal or dietary supplements. |
| DU | Duodenal ulcer | Peptic ulcer in the first part of the duodenum, usually the bulb, historically more frequent than gastric ulcers. |
| EGD | Esophagogastroduodenoscopy | Upper endoscopy in which a flexible camera is passed through the mouth to examine the esophagus, stomach and first part of the duodenum. |
| EMR | Endoscopic mucosal resection | Technique for removing flat or large polyps and early superficial cancers from the gut lining by lifting the lesion with a saline injection and cutting it off with a… |
| EoE | Eosinophilic esophagitis | Chronic allergic inflammation of the esophagus defined by at least 15 eosinophils per high-power field on biopsy plus symptoms of esophageal dysfunction. |
| EPI | Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency | Inadequate secretion of pancreatic digestive enzymes, leading to fat malabsorption, greasy foul-smelling stools, weight loss and fat-soluble vitamin deficiency. |
| ERCP | Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography | Endoscopic procedure in which a side-viewing scope is advanced to the duodenum and a catheter is passed into the bile and pancreatic ducts to inject contrast under… |
| ESD | Endoscopic submucosal dissection | Advanced endoscopic technique that removes a lesion in one piece by dissecting through the submucosal layer beneath it with an electrosurgical knife. |
| EUS | Endoscopic ultrasound | Endoscopy with an ultrasound probe at the tip, giving high-resolution images of the gut wall and nearby organs such as the pancreas, bile duct and lymph nodes. |
| EVL | Endoscopic variceal ligation | Endoscopic treatment in which rubber bands are placed around esophageal varices to cut off their blood supply, used both to stop acute variceal bleeding and to prevent… |
| FAP | Familial adenomatous polyposis | Autosomal dominant syndrome caused by APC gene mutations in which hundreds to thousands of colorectal adenomas develop from adolescence, giving a near 100 percent… |
| FD | Functional dyspepsia | Chronic upper abdominal pain, burning, early satiety or postprandial fullness without an ulcer, cancer or other structural cause on endoscopy. |
| FIT | Fecal immunochemical test | At-home colorectal cancer screening test that uses antibodies against human hemoglobin to detect blood in a single stool sample. |
| FMT | Fecal microbiota transplantation | Transfer of screened stool from a healthy donor into a patient's gut to restore normal bacteria, given by colonoscopy, enema or capsules. |
| FOBT | Fecal occult blood test | Stool test that detects hidden blood, used for colorectal cancer screening and anemia workups. |
| GAVE | Gastric antral vascular ectasia | Dilated, fragile capillaries in the gastric antrum that cause chronic hidden bleeding and iron-deficiency anemia, typically in older women and in patients with… |
| GEJ | Gastroesophageal junction | Anatomic point where the esophagus meets the stomach, marked endoscopically by the top of the gastric folds. |
| GERD | Gastroesophageal reflux disease | Chronic condition in which stomach acid and contents flow back into the esophagus often enough to cause troublesome symptoms or damage, classically heartburn and… |
| GES | Gastric emptying study | Nuclear medicine test in which the patient eats a meal labeled with a radioactive tracer, usually technetium-99m egg, and imaging measures how much food remains in the… |
| GI | Gastrointestinal | Relating to the digestive tract from mouth to anus, and by extension the liver, gallbladder and pancreas. |
| GIB | Gastrointestinal bleeding | Any bleeding into the digestive tract, traditionally divided into upper and lower GI bleeding by its source relative to the ligament of Treitz. |
| GIST | Gastrointestinal stromal tumor | Mesenchymal tumor of the GI tract, most often in the stomach or small intestine, arising from interstitial cells of Cajal and usually driven by KIT or PDGFRA mutations. |
| GORD | Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease | British, Irish and Australian equivalent of GERD, reflecting the spelling "oesophagus". |
| GU | Gastric ulcer | Peptic ulcer in the stomach, most often along the lesser curvature near the angular incisure. |
| H. pylori | Helicobacter pylori | Spiral, urease-producing bacterium that colonizes the stomach lining of roughly half the world's population and causes most peptic ulcers, chronic gastritis, gastric… |
| HCC | Hepatocellular carcinoma | Primary liver cancer arising from hepatocytes, usually in a cirrhotic liver or with chronic hepatitis B. |
| HE | Hepatic encephalopathy | Brain dysfunction caused by liver failure or portosystemic shunting, ranging from subtle attention problems to confusion, asterixis and coma. |
| HH | Hiatal hernia | Protrusion of part of the stomach up through the diaphragmatic hiatus into the chest. |
| HIDA | Hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scan | Nuclear medicine scan that tracks a radioactive tracer as the liver excretes it into the bile ducts, gallbladder and small intestine. |
| HNPCC | Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer | Older name for Lynch syndrome, the most common inherited colorectal cancer syndrome, caused by mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2) or EPCAM. |
| HRS | Hepatorenal syndrome | Functional kidney failure in advanced cirrhosis caused by intense renal vasoconstriction, without structural kidney damage. |
| IBD | Inflammatory bowel disease | Umbrella term for chronic immune-mediated inflammation of the gut, chiefly Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. |
| IBS | Irritable bowel syndrome | Common functional bowel disorder defined by recurrent abdominal pain linked to changes in stool frequency or form, without structural disease on testing. |
| IBS-C | Irritable bowel syndrome with predominant constipation | Subtype of IBS in which more than a quarter of bowel movements are hard or lumpy (Bristol stool types 1–2) and fewer than a quarter are loose. |
| IBS-D | Irritable bowel syndrome with predominant diarrhea | IBS subtype in which more than 25 percent of bowel movements are loose or watery (Bristol types 6–7) and fewer than 25 percent are hard. |
| IPAA | Ileal pouch-anal anastomosis | Restorative operation after total proctocolectomy in which the end of the small intestine is folded into a reservoir and joined to the anus, avoiding a permanent stoma. |
| LBO | Large bowel obstruction | Blockage of the colon, caused mainly by colorectal cancer, followed by volvulus and diverticular strictures. |
| LES | Lower esophageal sphincter | Ring of smooth muscle at the junction of the esophagus and stomach that stays contracted at rest to prevent reflux and relaxes on swallowing. |
| LGIB | Lower gastrointestinal bleeding | Bleeding that originates in the colon or rectum, presenting with bright red or maroon stool. |
| MASH | Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis | The inflammatory, fibrosis-prone subset of MASLD, previously called NASH, diagnosed by biopsy showing steatosis with ballooning and inflammation. |
| MASLD | Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease | Current name, adopted in 2023, for hepatic steatosis in a person with at least one cardiometabolic risk factor, such as excess weight, raised glucose, high blood… |
| MELD | Model for End-Stage Liver Disease | Scoring system that predicts three-month mortality in chronic liver disease from bilirubin, INR, creatinine and, in later versions, sodium and albumin. |
| MetALD | Metabolic and alcohol-related liver disease | Category created in 2023 for people who meet MASLD criteria but also drink more than minimal alcohol, roughly 140–350 g per week for women and 210–420 g per week for men. |
| MRCP | Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography | Noninvasive MRI technique that uses heavily T2-weighted images to show the bile ducts, gallbladder and pancreatic duct without contrast injection or endoscopy. |
| mt-sDNA | Multitarget stool DNA test | Colorectal cancer screening test combining detection of tumor-associated DNA changes with a fecal hemoglobin immunoassay, sold in the US as Cologuard. |
| N/V | Nausea and vomiting | Charting shorthand recorded in histories, review of systems and medication side-effect lists. |
| NAFLD | Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease | Former name for fat accumulation in more than 5 percent of liver cells in people who drink little alcohol, linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia. |
| NASH | Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis | Former term for the progressive, inflammatory form of fatty liver disease, defined on biopsy by steatosis plus hepatocyte ballooning and lobular inflammation. |
| NG | Nasogastric | Describes a tube passed through the nose and esophagus into the stomach, used to decompress the stomach in bowel obstruction or ileus, to give feeds or medications, and… |
| NVD | Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea | Grouped symptom shorthand used in triage and review of systems, often pointing to viral gastroenteritis, food poisoning or medication effects. |
| OGD | Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy | British and Commonwealth term for upper GI endoscopy, the same procedure Americans call EGD. |
| OLT | Orthotopic liver transplantation | Replacement of a diseased liver with a donor liver placed in its normal anatomic position, the definitive treatment for end-stage liver disease, acute liver failure and… |
| PBC | Primary biliary cholangitis | Autoimmune disease that slowly destroys the small bile ducts inside the liver, mostly in middle-aged women. |
| PEG | Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy | Feeding tube placed through the abdominal wall into the stomach with endoscopic guidance, used for long-term enteral nutrition in patients who cannot swallow safely… |
| POEM | Peroral endoscopic myotomy | Incisionless endoscopic procedure for achalasia in which a tunnel is created inside the esophageal wall and the circular muscle of the lower esophageal sphincter is cut. |
| PSC | Primary sclerosing cholangitis | Chronic disease in which inflammation and scarring narrow the bile ducts inside and outside the liver, producing a "beaded" appearance on MRCP. |
| PTC | Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography | Interventional radiology procedure in which a needle is passed through the skin and liver into a bile duct to inject contrast, usually followed by placement of a… |
| PUD | Peptic ulcer disease | Breaks in the lining of the stomach or duodenum deep enough to penetrate the muscularis mucosae, caused mainly by Helicobacter pylori infection and NSAID or aspirin use. |
| RYGB | Roux-en-Y gastric bypass | Bariatric operation that creates a small gastric pouch connected to a limb of jejunum, bypassing most of the stomach and the duodenum. |
| SBFT | Small bowel follow-through | Fluoroscopic study in which barium is followed from the stomach through the small intestine with serial films until it reaches the colon. |
| SBO | Small bowel obstruction | Blockage of the small intestine, most often from postoperative adhesions, followed by hernias and tumors. |
| SBP | Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis | Infection of ascitic fluid in cirrhosis without a surgically treatable source, diagnosed by an ascitic neutrophil count of 250 cells/mm3 or more. |
| SBS | Short bowel syndrome | Malabsorption that follows extensive loss of small intestine, usually when less than about 200 cm remains, from resections for Crohn's disease, mesenteric ischemia… |
| SIBO | Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth | Excess bacteria in the small intestine causing bloating, diarrhea, abdominal discomfort and sometimes vitamin B12 deficiency or weight loss. |
| TIPS | Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt | Interventional radiology procedure in which a stent is placed through the liver from a hepatic vein to a portal vein branch, lowering portal pressure. |
| tTG | Tissue transglutaminase (antibody test) | Blood test, usually tTG-IgA, that serves as the first-line screen for celiac disease, with sensitivity and specificity above 90 percent. |
| UC | Ulcerative colitis | Form of IBD that causes continuous mucosal inflammation starting in the rectum and extending proximally through the colon to a variable extent. |
| UGI | Upper gastrointestinal series | Fluoroscopic X-ray study in which the patient swallows barium or water-soluble contrast so the esophagus, stomach and duodenum can be imaged. |
| UGIB | Upper gastrointestinal bleeding | Bleeding from the esophagus, stomach or duodenum, classically defined as proximal to the ligament of Treitz. |
| VCE | Video capsule endoscopy | Examination in which the patient swallows a pill-sized wireless camera that photographs the small intestine as it passes through. |
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