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 |
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consanguinity |
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illegitimate offspring |
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divorce |
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multiple marriage |
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dizygotic twins |
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monozygotic twins |
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number of children of sex indicated |
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adopted |
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half sibling |
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stillbirth or abortion |
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no offspring |
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affected offspring |
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proband, propositus, or index case |
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heterozygotes for autosomal recessive |
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carrier of sex-linked recessive |
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death |
Symbols Commonly Used in Physical Therapy Documentation
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bilateral |
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cue |
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dependent |
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handheld assist |
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independent |
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left |
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right |
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supervision |
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standard walker |
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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 |
| CovAB | 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 |
| Ha | 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 |
| rs | 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 |
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not greater than |
| < | less than (on The Joint Commission “Do Not Use” List) |
| ≤ | less than or equal to |
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not less than |
| ≡ | identical to |
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square root |
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cube root |
| ! | factorial |
| % | per cent |
| ∞ | infinity |
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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
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axilla (temperature) |
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axilla (temperature) |
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hypodermic |
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hypodermic |
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intramuscular |
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intravenous |
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left |
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murmur |
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mouth, by mouth, murmur |
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by mouth, oral |
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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 |
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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 |
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normal |
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with |
 |
without |
| ✓ | check, observe for |
| ✓’d | checked |
 |
check with |
| φ | none |
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systolic blood pressure |
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diastolic blood pressure |
| └ | right lower quadrant right angle |
| ┌ | right upper quadrant |
| ┐ | left upper quadrant |
| ┘ | left lower quadrant |
| ∠ | angle |
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angle of entry |
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angle of exit |
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male |
| ♂ | male |
| ♀ | female |
| * | birth, not verified, presumed |
| † | dead, death, died |
| ℞ | recipe, take |
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ounce |
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fluid ounce |
| ∋ | scruple |
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minim |
| 3 | drachm, dram |
| f3 | fluidrachm, fluidram |
