ABBREVIATIONS AND THEIR MEANINGS

PRESENTED BY: JAMECIA MCFARLIN

Pressure Equalizing Tube Abbreviation: PE PE tubes are tiny hollow tubes made of a soft

material. PE tubes decrease the frequency of ear infections by allowing air in and helping fluid to drain into the throat. PE tubes are inserted under general anesthesia as an outpatient surgery. A microscope is used to see into the ear and a small incision is made in the eardrum.

Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat

Abbreviation: EENT

Bone Conduction Abbreviation: BC Bone conduction is the conduction of

sound to the inner ear through the bones of the skull. Bone conduction is the reason why a person's voice sounds different to him/her when it is recorded and played back. Bone conduction tends to amplify the lower frequencies, and so most people perceive their own voice as being of a lower pitch than others hear it.

Both Ears Abbreviation: AU Both ears allows you to make fine judgments

about sound and to listen selectively to one of several sounds.

Otitis Media Abbreviation: OM Otitis media is an inflammation of the middle ear

(the cavity between the eardrum and the inner ear). Otitis media occurs in the area between the ear drum (the end of the outer ear) and the inner ear, including a duct known as the eustachian tube It is one of the two categories of ear inflammation that can underlie what is commonly called an earache, the other being otitis externa.

Emmetropia Abbreviation: EM Emmetropia describes the state of vision where an

object at infinity is in sharp focus with the eye lens in a neutral or relaxed state. Emmetropia is a state in which the eye is relaxed and focused on an object more than 6 meters or 20 feet away. The light rays coming from that object are essentially parallel, and the rays are focused on the retina without effort (an emmetropic eye does not need corrective lenses). If the gaze shifts to something closer, light rays from the source are too divergent to be focused without effort. In other words, the eye is automatically focused on things in the distance unless a conscious effort is made to focus elsewhere.

Extropia Abbreviation: XT Exotropia is a form of strabismus where the

eyes are deviated outward. It is the opposite of esotropia. People with exotropia often experience crossed diplopia. Intermittent exotropia is a fairly common condition. "Sensory exotropia" occurs in the presence of poor vision. Infantile exotropia (sometimes called "congenital exotropia") is seen during the first year of life, and is less common than "essential exotropia" which usually becomes apparent several years later.

Left Eye Abbreviation: OS

Extraocular Movement Abbreviation: EOM Extraocular movements (eye movements) can be

checked by having the patient look in all directions without moving their head and ask them if they experiences any double vision.

Visual Acuity Abbreviation: VA Visual acuity (VA) is acuteness or clearness of

vision, especially form vision, which is dependent on the sharpness of the retinal focus within the eye and the sensitivity of the interpretative faculty of the brain. VA is a quantitative measure of the ability to identify black symbols on a white background at a standardized distance as the size of the symbols is varied.