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CD-ROM Today 1996 January
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1994-01-17
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$Unique_ID{BRK00688}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Why Do Doctors Always Write Their Prescriptions in Latin?}
$Subject{medicine medicines medication medications prescriptions prescription
Latin doctor doctors abbreviation abbreviations}
$Volume{R-0,W-0}
$Log{}
Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Why Do Doctors Always Write Their Prescriptions in Latin?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION: Why do doctors always write their prescriptions in Latin? My guess
is that it is to keep the mystery in medicine and to keep patients confused,
but I suppose you will have another point of view. What is it?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANSWER: Yes, I do have another point of view, and I am happy to share it with
you. Actually physicians do not use a lot of Latin in writing their
prescriptions these days. They did in "the good old days" when pharmacists
prepared prescriptions by mixing various powders and liquids requested by the
physician. But today, most of this preparation takes place at the drug
manufacturing plant, so that the physician merely names the medicine and its
dose, specifies tablet, capsule or liquid, all in English. However there is
one part of the prescription that gives the directions for the patient that
still may seem a bit confusing. It's called the "sig.," from the Latin word
that means "to write," and contains a great many abbreviations which simplify
writing the prescription but still clearly indicates the instructions to be
included on the label. Its a lot easier writing "a. c." (for the Latin ante
cibos) than "take the medication before meals", but it means exactly the same
thing to those who know the abbreviations. And that takes the mystery out of
that. But it still doesn't improve the handwriting of many doctors, which may
be the reason you still can't decipher it!
----------------
The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.