Slash

Last revised by Daniel J Bell on 6 Nov 2019

A slash (the forward slash in English is formally called the solidus) is used mainly as a substitute for the word 'or'. Radiopaedia.org follows standard English style with no space either preceding or following a slash. A slash is often used to avoid indicating a preference for one of the terms on either side of the slash. 

When either of the separated items is an idiom/compound phrase that itself contains a space it is acceptable to use a space both before and after the slash, but it may be better to revise the text so that the slash is not needed.

A slash is also employed when the numeric values of the systolic and diastolic blood pressures are written in shorthand, e.g. 110/70.

Examples
  1. The heart is located more cranial/superior than the liver.
  2. All European Society of Radiology / Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists / Radiological Society of North America members are invited.

NB combinations of imaging modalities (hybrid imaging) are connected with a dash (PET-CT), not with a slash, to reflect that they are true combinations and not a substitute for each other.

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