Acronyms in rheumatology
A unified list of acronyms has been drawn up and approved by the editors of the principal journals in the field of rheumatology. It originally appeared in the November 1998 issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism (vol. 41, no. 11, pp. 1901-5) and it is recommended that authors use them to facilitate scientific communication. The list was updated in January 2005, and finally in 2010 (Clin Exp Rheumatol 2010; 28;1). We reproduce the list in full below. You may also download and print a PDF file of this list.
| 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 | 1,25(OH)2D3 |
| 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 | 25(OH)D3 |
| α1-microglobulin | α1m |
| α2-macroglobulin | α2M |
| α2-plasmin inhibitor | α2PI |
| anti-centromere antibodies | ACA |
| anti-cardiolipin antibodies | aCL |
| acute cutaneous lupus erythematosus | acLE |
| anti-citrullinated protein antibodies | ACPA |
| American College of Rheumatology | ACR |
| anti-endothelial cell antibodies | AECA |
| Arthritis Foundation | AF |
| acquired immunodeficiency virus | AIDS |
| Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales | AIMS |
| alkaline phosphatase | ALP |
| anti-mitochondrial antibodies | AMA |
| anti-nuclear antibodies | ANA |
| anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies | ANCA |
| anti-phospholipid antibodies | aPL |
| IgA anti-phospholipid antibodies | APL |
| anti-phospholipid syndrome | APS |
| anti-phosphatidylserine-prothrombin antibodies | aPS-PT |
| anti-prothrombin antibodies | aPT |
| activated partial thromboplastin time | aPTT |
| American Rheumatism Association | ARA |
| Arthritis, Rheumatism and Aging Medical Information System |
ARAMIS |
| adult respiratory distress syndrome | ARDS |
| acute rheumatic fever | ARF |
| ankylosing spondylitis | AS |
| acetylsalicylic acid | ASA |
| anti-smooth muscle antibodies | ASMA |
| azathioprine | AZA |
| Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index | BASDI |
| Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index | BASFI |
| Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Patient Global Score | BAS-G |
| Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index | BASMI |
| Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Radiology Index | BASRI |
| British Isles Lupus Assessment Group | BILAG |
| bone mineral content | BMC |
| bone mineral density | BMD |
| body mass index | BMI |
| bone morphogenic protein | BMP |
| bovine serum albumin | BSA |
| Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score | BVAS |
| cytoplasmic ANCA | cANCA |
| cyclic citrullinated peptide | CCP |
| chronic diffuse cutaneous lupus erythematosus | cdcLE |
| complementary DNA | cDNA |
| collagen-induced arthritis | CIA |
| circulating immune complex | CIC |
| counterimmunoelectrophoresis | CIE |
| carpometacarpal joint | CMC joint |
| cytomegalovirus | CMV |
| central nervous system | CNS |
| central nervous system lupus | CNS lupus |
| cartilage oligomeric matrix protein | COMP |
| calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease | CPDD |
| counts per minute | cpm |
| calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate | CPPD |
| calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, telangiectasias |
CREST |
| chromosomal RNA | cRNA |
| C-reactive protein | CRP |
| chondroitin sulfate | ChSu |
| corticosteroid | CS |
| cyclosporin A | CSA |
| Cooperative Systematic Studies of the Rheumatic Diseases (group) |
CSSRD |
| computed tomography | CT |
| connective tissue disease | CTD |
| cathepsin G | CTG |
| carpal tunnel syndrome | CTS |
| coxsackievirus B | CVB |
| cyclophosphamide | CYC |
| dilute Russell viper venom time | DRVVT |
| disease activity score | DAS |
| diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis | dcSSc |
| denatured DNA | dDNA |
| D-penicillamine | D-Pen |
| dehydroepiandrosterone | DHEA |
| dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate | DHEAS |
| direct immunofluorescence | DIF |
| distal interphalangeal joint | DIP joint |
| diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis | DISH |
| discoid lupus erythematosus | DLE |
| dermatomyositis | DM |
| disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs | DMARD |
| Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium | DMEM |
| deoxyribonucleic acid | DNA |
| dual-photon absorptiometry | DPA |
| double-stranded DNA | dsDNA |
| dual x-ray absorptiometry | DXA |
| Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen | EBNA |
| Epstein-Barr virus | EBV |
| electrocardiogram | ECG |
| European Consensus Lupus Activity Measure | ECLAM |
| ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid | EDTA |
| eosinophilic fasciitis | EF |
| enzyme immunoassay | EIA |
| enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay | ELISA |
| electron microscopy | EM |
| electromyography | EMG |
| extractable nuclear antigen | ENA |
| ear, nose, throat | ENT |
| erythrocyte sedimentation rate | ESR |
| European Spondylarthropathy Study Group | ESSG |
| endothelin 1 | ET-1 |
| European League Against Rheumatism | EULAR |
| fluorescence-activated cell sorting | FACS |
| fluorescence in situ hybridization | FISH |
| fluorescein isothiocyanate | FITC |
| fibromyalgia | FM |
| familial Mediterranean fever | FMF |
| fast protein (or fast performance) liquid chromatography |
FPLC |
| Felty's syndrome | FS |
| fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption | FTA-ABS |
| glycosaminoglycan | GAG |
| glomerular basement membrane | GBM |
| giant cell arteritis | GCA |
| gas chromatography-mass spectrometry | GC-MS |
| granulocyte colony-stimulating factor | G-CSF |
| granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor | GM-CSF |
| glomerulonephritis | GN |
| IgG phospholipid units | GPL |
| hyaluronic acid | HA |
| Health Assessment Questionnaire | HAQ |
| heat-aggregated IgG | HAGG |
| hepatitis A virus | HAV |
| hepatitis B surface antigen | HBsAg |
| hepatitis B virus | HBV |
| hydroxychloroquine | HCQ |
| hepatitis C virus | HCV |
| hepatitis delta virus | HDV |
| hepatoma cell line | Hep |
| human epithelial cell line 2 | HEp-2 |
| hepatitis E virus | HEV |
| human herpesvirus | HHV |
| histidyl-transfer RNA | his-tRNA |
| human immunodeficiency virus | HIV |
| human leukocyte antigens | HLA |
| heterogeneous nuclear RNA | hnRNA |
| heterogeneous nuclear RNP | hnRNP |
| hypertrophic osteoarthropathy | HOA |
| high pressure (or high performance) liquid chromatography |
HPLC |
| human papilloma virus | HPV |
| hormone replacement therapy | HRT |
| heat shock protein | HSP |
| Henoch-Schönlein purpura | HScP |
| hypersensitivity vasculitis | HV |
| herpes simplex virus type 1 | HSV |
| human T cell lymphotrophic virus | HTLV |
| intra-articular | IA |
| inflammatory bowel disease | IBD |
| inclusion body myositis | IBM |
| immune complex | IC |
| ionized calcium | iCa |
| immunodiffusion | ID |
| isoelectric focusing | IEF |
| immunofluorescence | IF |
| interferon | IFN |
| immunoglobulins | Ig |
| indirect immunofluorescence | IIF |
| interleukin | IL |
| International League of Associations for Rheumatology |
ILAR |
| interphalangeal joint | IP joint |
| intravenous immunoglobulin | IVIG |
| idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura | ITP |
| juvenile chronic arthritis | JCA |
| juvenile dermatomyositis | JDM |
| juvenile idiopathic arthritis | JIA |
| juvenile reactive arthritis | jRA |
| juvenile SLE | jSLE |
| keratoconjunctivitis sicca | KCS |
| kaolin clotting time | KCT |
| kinetoplast DNA | kDNA |
| La/SSB antigen | La/SSB |
| lupus anticoagulant | LA |
| Lupus Activity Criteria Count | LACC |
| limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis | lcSSc |
| lupus erythematosus cells | LE cells |
| leflunomide | LEF |
| lupus nephritis | LN |
| monoclonal antibody | mAb |
| metacarpophalangeal joint | MCP joint |
| macrophage colony-stimulating factor | M-CSF |
| mixed connective tissue disease | MCTD |
| medical subject headings | MeSH |
| major histocompatibility complex | MHC |
| microRNA | miRNA |
| mycophenolate mofetil | MMF |
| matrix metalloprotease (or matrix metalloproteinase) |
MMP |
| IgM phospholipid units | MPL |
| myeloperoxidase | MPO |
| monoclonal rheumatoid factor | mRF |
| magnetic resonance imaging | MRI |
| messenger RNA | mRNA |
| metatarsophalangeal joint | MTP joint |
| methotrexate | MTX |
| nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide | NAD(H) |
| nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate | NADP(H) |
| native DNA | nDNA |
| normal human serum | NHS |
| National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases |
NIAMS |
| natural killer | NK |
| nuclear magnetic resonance | NMR |
| neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus | NPSLE |
| nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug | NSAID |
| osteoarthritis | OA |
| osteocalcin | OC |
| Outcome Measures in Rheumatoid Arthritis Clinical Trials |
OMERACT |
| polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis | PAGE |
| polyarteritis nodosa | PAN |
| perinuclear ANCA | pANCA |
| phosphate buffered saline | PBS |
| proliferating cell nuclear antigen | PCNA |
| polymerase chain reaction | PCR |
| Paget's disease | PD |
| platelet-derived growth factor | PDGF |
| positron emission tomography | PET |
| prostaglandin | PG |
| proximal intephalangeal joint | PIP joint |
| polymyositis | PM |
| polymyositis/dermatomyositis | PM/DM |
| polymorphonuclear leukocytes | PMN |
| polymyalgia rheumatica | PMR |
| proteinase 3 | PR3 |
| Pediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization | PRINTO |
| psoriatic arthritis | PsA |
| prothrombin time | PT |
| parathyroid hormone | PTH |
| psoralen ultraviolet A | PUVA |
| quantitative computed tomography | QCT |
| rheumatoid arthritis | RA |
| rheumatoid arthritis nuclear antigen | RANA |
| receptor activator of nuclear factor kB | RANK |
| rheumatic disease unit | RDU |
| reactive arthritis | ReA |
| rheumatoid factor | RF |
| radioimmunoassay | RIA |
| radial immunodiffusion | RID |
| ribonucleic acid | RNA |
| ribonucleoprotein | RNP |
| Ro/SSA antigen | Ro/SSA |
| Raynaud's phenomenon | RP |
| ribosomal RNA | rRNA |
| remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema |
RS3PE |
| reflex sympathetic dystrophy (syndrome) | RSD |
| respiratory syncytial virus | RSV |
| reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction | RT-PCR |
| slow-acting antirheumatic drugs | SAARD |
| Synovitis, Acne, Pustolosis, Hyperostosis and Osteitis (syndrome) | SAPHO |
| Sclero 70 | Scl-70 |
| subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus | scLE |
| small cytoplasmic RNP | scRNP |
| salmon calcitonin | SCT |
| sodium dodecyl sulfate | SDS |
| seronegative enthesopathy and arthropathy (syndrome) |
SEA |
| synovial fluid | SF |
| Spondylitis Functional Index | SFI |
| sex hormone binding globulin | SHBG |
| sacroiliac joint | SI joint |
| Systemic Lupus Activity Measure | SLAM |
| Systemic Lupus Criteria Count | SLCC |
| systemic lupus erythematosus | SLE |
| Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index |
SLEDAI |
| Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics |
SLICC |
| synovial membrane | SM |
| small nuclear RNP | snRNP |
| spondylarthritis | SpA |
| single-photon-emission computed tomography | SPECT |
| soluble RNA | sRNA |
| Sjögren's syndrome | SS |
| systemic sclerosis | SSc |
| single-stranded DNA | ssDNA |
| sulfasalazine | SSZ |
| simian vacuolating virus 40 | SV40 |
| temporal arteritis | TA |
| total body bone mineral density | TBBMD |
| T cell receptor | TCR |
| transforming growth factor β | TGF-β |
| T helper | Th |
| total lymphoid irradiation | TLI |
| temporomandibular joint | TM joint |
| tumor necrosis factor alpha | TNF-α |
| tumor necrosis factor beta | TNF-β |
| topoisomerase I | topo I |
| tissue plasminogen activator | tPA |
| regulatory T cells | Treg |
| transfer RNA | tRNA |
| undifferentiated connective tissue disease | UCTD |
| urokinase plasminogen activator | uPA |
| ultrasound | US |
| undifferentiated spondylarthritis | uSpA |
| Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (test) | VDRL |
| vascular endothelial growth factor | VEGF |
| Wegener's granulomatosis | WG |
| Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index |
WOMAC |
| left-handed DNA | Z-DNA |