Medical Symbols for The Greek Alphabet

Capital	Lower Case	Letter Name	Transcription
A	α	alpha	a
B	β	beta	b
Γ	γ	gamma	g
Δ	δ	delta	d
E	ε	epsilon	e
Z	ζ	zeta	z
H	η	eta	ē
Θ	θ	theta	th
I	ι	iota	i
K	κ	kappa	k
Λ	λ	lambda	l
M	µ	mu	m
N	ν	nu	n
Ξ	ξ	xi	x
O	ο	omicron	o
π	π	pi	p
P	ρ	rho	r
Σ	σ,ς	sigma	s
T	τ	tau	t
Y	υ	upsilon	y (sometimes u)
Ф	φ	phi	ph
X	χ	chi	ch (sometimes kh)
ψ	ψ	psi	ps
Ω	ω	omega	ō

Symbols Commonly Used in Pedigrees

	male
	female
	sex unspecified
	mating or marriage
	consanguinity
	illegitimate offspring
	divorce
	multiple marriage
	dizygotic twins
	monozygotic twins
	number of children of sex indicated
	adopted
	half sibling
	stillbirth or abortion
	no offspring
	affected offspring
	proband, propositus, or index case
	heterozygotes for autosomal recessive
	carrier of sex-linked recessive
	death

Symbols Commonly Used in Physical Therapy Documentation

	bilateral
	cue
	dependent
	handheld assist
	independent
	left
	right
	supervision
	standard walker
	wheeled walker

Mathematics and Statistics

α	probability of type I error
β	probability of type II error
1-β	power (of a statistical test)
χ²	chi-square
Cov_AB	covariance of A and B
CV	coefficient of variation
D	nonparametric statistic
d	parametric statistic
E	expectancy
e	base of natural logarithms
F	F statistic
f	frequency, function
H₀	null hypothesis
H₁	alternative hypothesis
H_a	alternative hypothesis
ln	natural logarithm
m	median
µ	population mean
N	population size
n	sample size
ν	degrees of freedom
P	probability
p	probability that event will occur
P(A)	probability that event A will occur
P(A\B)	probability that, given event A, event B will occur (conditional probability)
q	probability that an alternative event will occur (equal to 1/p)
r	sample correlation coefficient
R	rate
ρ	population correlation coefficient
r_s	Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient
Σ	summation
s	sample standard deviation
s²	sample variance
σ	population standard deviation
σ²	population variance
SD	standard deviation
SE	standard error
t	(Student) t test variable
x	abscissa
T	sample mean
\|x\|	absolute value of x
y	ordinate
+	plus
–	minus
±	plus or minus
×	multiplied by, times
÷, /	divided by
=	equals
~	approximately
≅	congruent to, approximately equal to
≈	approximately equal to
≠	not equal to
>	greater than (on The Joint Commission “Do Not Use” List)
≥	greater than or equal to
	not greater than
<	less than (on The Joint Commission “Do Not Use” List)
≤	less than or equal to
	not less than
≡	identical to
	square root
	cube root
!	factorial
%	per cent
∞	infinity
	binomial coefficient
*	estimate (biased), used over a symbol
∧	estimate (biased), used over a symbol
⊂	is a subset of
⊃	contains as a subset
⋂	(“cap’’) intersection
⋃	(“cup’’) union

Miscellaneous Symbols

	axilla (temperature)
	axilla (temperature)
	hypodermic
	hypodermic
	intramuscular
	intravenous
	left
	murmur
	mouth, by mouth, murmur
	by mouth, oral
	rectal, rectal, right
0	absent, no response
+	acid, and, increased, plus, positive, present, slight trace
++	moderate, normally active, noticeable reaction, trace
+++	increased, moderately active, moderately severe
++++	large amount, pronounced reaction, severe
++/+	2 plus on the right, 1 plus on the left
0/0	zero on either side
(+)	significant
–	absent, alkaline, decreased, diminished, minus, negative
(–)	insignificant
±	plus or minus, positive or negative, with or without
(±)	possibly significant
1×	once
×2	twice
2×	twice
/	divided by, of, per
°	degree
	hour
1°	first degree, one hour, primary
2°	secondary, second degree, two hours
3°	tertiary, third degree, three hours
24°	24 hours
	two
′	foot, minute, univalent
″	inch, second, bivalent
:	is to, ratio
∷	as (in ratios)
∴	therefore
#	fracture, gauge, has been done, number, pounds
@	at (on the JCAHO “Do Not Use” List)
∞	indefinitely more, infinite, infinity
Δ	change, difference, Gibbs free energy, prism diopter
ΔA	change in absorbance
ΔpH	change in pH
Δt	time interval
↗	deviated, displaced, increase, increasing
↑	elevated, gas, increased, increased
⇈	extensor response, Babinski sign, testes undescended
	up
↙	decrease, decreasing
↓	decreased, decreasing, deficiency, deficit, depressed, diminished, precipitate
⇊	bilaterally descended, both down, plantar response, Babinski sign, testes descended
	down
↑V	increase due to in vivo effect
↓V	decrease due to in vivo effect
↑C	increase due to chemical interference during the assay
↓C	decrease due to chemical interference during the assay
→	causes, distal, no change, reaction proceeds to the right, results in, transfer to, yields
→	caused by, derived from, is due to, reaction proceeds to the left
⇄	reversible reaction
?	doubtful, equivocal, flicker, possible, questionable, unknown
\|\|	parallel, parallel bars
	normal
	with
	without
✓	check, observe for
✓’d	checked
	check with
φ	none
	systolic blood pressure
	diastolic blood pressure
└	right lower quadrant right angle
┌	right upper quadrant
┐	left upper quadrant
┘	left lower quadrant
∠	angle
	angle of entry
	angle of exit
	male
♂	male
♀	female
*	birth, not verified, presumed
†	dead, death, died
℞	recipe, take
	ounce
	fluid ounce
∋	scruple
	minim
3	drachm, dram
f₃	fluidrachm, fluidram