Medical abbreviations and acronyms (C)
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This article contains a list of commonly used medical abbreviations and acronyms that start with the letter C and may be encountered in medicine and radiology (please keep both the main list and any sublists in alphabetic order).
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L -M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z - misc
- C
- caesarean (C-section)
- carbon
- Celsius/centigrade
- cervical
- coulomb (SI unit of charge)
- cysteine (single letter amino acid code)
- cytosine (DNA nucleotide)
- hundred (Roman numeral)
- c: speed of light in a vacuum (always lowercase)
- C1-C3: cruciate pulleys
- C1-C7
- cervical spinal nerve roots
- cervical vertebrae
- C2H5OH: ethanol
- C8: eighth cervical nerve root
- CA
- Ca: calcium
- CA 15-3: carcinoma antigen 15-3
- CA 19-9: cancer antigen 19-9
- CA 27-29: cancer antigen 27-29
- CA-125: cancer antigen 125
- CAA: coronary artery aneurysm
- CABG: coronary artery bypass graft
- CAC: coronary artery calcification
- CACG: chronic angle-closure glaucoma
- CAD
- CADASIL: cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy
- CAE: coronary artery ectasia
- CAG: coronary artery graft
- CAGS: coronary artery graft surgery
- CAH: congenital adrenal hyperplasia
- CAI: chronic ankle instability
- CAIPIRINHA: controlled aliasing in parallel imaging results in higher acceleration (Siemens)
- CAK: cumulative air kerma
- CAM: comprehensive arthroscopic management
- CANVAS: cerebellar ataxia with neuropathy and vestibular areflexia syndrome
- CAP
- chest-abdomen-pelvis (as in CT scan of CAP)
- community-acquired pneumonia
- CAPD: continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis
- CARASIL: cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy
- CAS: carotid artery stenosis
- CASA: computer-assisted semen analysis
- CASH: chemotherapy-associated steatohepatitis
- CAT
- computed axial tomography or computer-aided tomography
- critically-appraised topic
- c/b: complicated by
- CB: ciliary body
- CBAVD: congenital bilateral absence of vas deferens
- CBC: complete blood count
- CBCT: cone beam CT
- CBD: common bile duct
- CBF: cerebral blood flow
- CBH: change in bowel habit
- CBI: continuous bladder irrigation
- CBV: cerebral blood volume
- cc: with correction (ophthalmology)
- CC
- caudocranial or caudocraniad
- chief complaint
- copy to (letters/email)
- corpus callosum
- craniocaudad or craniocaudal
- Creative Commons
- cubic centimetre (cm3 preferred)
- CCA: common carotid artery
- CCAM: congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation
- CCC: continuous curvilinear capsulorrhexis
- CCCT: clomiphene citrate (Clomid) challenge test
- CCD
- CCF
- CCL: corpus callosum lipoma
- CCP:
- central chest pain
- cyclic citrullinated peptide (antibody, in rheumatoid arthritis)
- CCS
- CCST: Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training (UK)
- CCT: Certificate of Completion of Training (UK)
- CCU
- coronary care unit
- critical care unit
- CD
- clinical director
- Clostridioides difficile
- cluster of differentiation (immunology, e.g. CD4, CD8, etc.)
- common duct
- compact disc
- Cotrel-Dubousset
- Crohn disease
- cystic duct
- Cd: cadmium
- cd: candela (SI unit of luminous intensity)
- CDC: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (US federal agency)
- CDE: complete dental evaluation
- CDH
- C.diff: Clostridioides difficile
- CDI: Colour Doppler imaging
- CDR: clinical decision rules
- CD-ROM: compact disc - read only memory disc
- CDS
- carotid duplex study
- clinical decision support
- CDT
- catheter-directed therapy
- catheter-directed thrombolysis
- Clostridioides difficile toxin
- CE
- cataract extraction
- contrast-enhanced
- Ce: cerium
- CEA
- CECT: contrast-enhanced computed tomography
- CEMR: contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance
- CEMRI: contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging
- CERAB: covered endovascular reconstruction of the aortic bifurcation
- CES: cauda equina syndrome
- CESM: contrast-enhanced spectral mammography
- CEUS: contrast-enhanced ultrasound
- CF: cystic fibrosis
- cf: compare with (Latin: confer)
- CFA: common femoral artery
- CFC: cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome
- CFDM: cystic fibrosis - related diabetes mellitus
- CFL: calcaneofibular ligament
- CFR: case fatality rate
- CFS: chronic fatigue syndrome
- CFTS: combined first trimester screening
- CFV: common femoral vein (strictly does not exist)
- cgs: centimetre-gram-second (superseded system of units)
- Ch: Charrière (unit)
- CHALICE: children’s head injury algorithm for prediction of clinically important event
- CHANTER: cerebellar, hippocampal, and basal nuclei transient oedema with restricted diffusion syndrome
- CHAOS: congenital high airway obstruction syndrome
- CHB: complete heart block
- CHD
- chem: chemistry
- CHESS: chemical shift selective pulses (all vendors)
- CHF: congestive heart failure
- CHILD syndrome: congenital hemidysplasia with ichthyosiform erythroderma and limb defects
- CHL
- CHO: carbohydrate
- Chol: cholesterol
- CHOP: cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin (hydroxydaunomycin), Oncovin® (vincristine), prednisolone
- CI
- cardiac index
- compound imaging
- confidence interval
- contraindication
- cord insertion
- Ci: curie (non-SI unit of radioactivity)
- CIDP: chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
- C/I: contraindication
- CIA: common iliac artery
- CID: concealed interstitial delamination
- CIDP: chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
- CIED: cardiac implantable electronic device
- CIN
- CIRS: chronic inflammatory response syndrome
- CIRSE: Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe
- CIS: clinically isolated syndrome
- CISS: constructive interference in steady state (Siemens)
- CIV: common iliac vein
- CJD: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
- CK: creatine kinase
- CKD: chronic kidney disease
- Cl: chlorine
- CLABSI: central line-associated bloodstream infection
- CLD:
- chronic liver disease
- chronic lung disease (of infancy)
- congenital lactase deficiency
- congenital limb deficiency
- cystic lung disease
- CLEAR: constant level appearance
- CLIPPERS: chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids
- cm: centimetre
- CMCJ: carpometacarpal joint
- CMD: coronary microvascular dysfunction
- CME
- continuing medical education
- cystoid macular oedema
- CMF: chondromyxoid fibroma
- CMP: cardiomyopathy
- CMR: complete metabolic response
- CMT
- CMV: cytomegalovirus
- CN: cranial nerve
- CNA: chronic necrotising aspergillosis
- CNLD: chronic neonatal lung disease
- CNN: convolutional neural network
- CNR: contrast-to-noise ratio
- CNS: central nervous system
- CNV: choroidal neovascularisation
- CNVM: choroidal neovascular membrane
- CO
- Co
- cobalt
- coccygeal vertebrae (Co1, Co2, etc)
- C/O: complaining of
- CoA: coarctation of aorta
- COAD: chronic obstructive airways disease
- COAG: chronic open-angle glaucoma
- COBH: change of bowel habit
- COCP: combined oral contraceptive pill
- COH: controlled ovarian hyperstimulation
- COHb: carboxyhaemoglobin
- COLD: Cowden-Lhermitte-Duclos syndrome
- COM: chronic otomastoiditis
- COMARE: Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (UK)
- COP
- combined oral contraceptive pill
- cryptogenic organising pneumonia
- COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Cor: coronal
- CoR: College of Radiographers (UK)
- COVID-19: CoronaVirus Disease-2019
- CoV: coronavirus
- COW: circle of Willis
- CP
- caeruloplasmin
- cerebral palsy
- cervical position
- chest pain
- cross-polarisation
- CPA
- cerebellopontine angle
- costophrenic angle
- CPAM: congenital pulmonary airway malformation
- CPAP: continuous positive airway pressure
- CPB: cardiopulmonary bypass
- CPC
- choroid plexus cyst
- cyclophotocoagulation
- CPD: continuing professional development
- CPE: carbapenem-producing enterobacteriaceae
- CPFE: combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema
- CPFI: chest pain for investigation
- CPK: creatine phosphokinase
- CPR
- CPS: complex partial seizure
- CQC: Care Quality Commission (UK)
- CR: complete response (RECIST)
- Cr
- chromium
- creatinine
- CRA: coral reef aorta
- CRAB: carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii
- CRAO: central retinal artery occlusion
- CRC: colorectal cancer or colorectal carcinoma
- CRE: carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae
- Creat: creatinine
- CREST: calcinosis, Raynaud phenomenon, oesophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, telangiectasia
- CRF
- chronic renal failure
- corticotropin-releasing factor
- CRIF: closed reduction internal fixation
- CRION: chronic relapsing inflammatory optic neuropathy
- CRISPR: clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats
- CRL: crown-rump length
- CRM: circumferential resection margin
- CRMD: cardiac rhythm management device
- CRP: C-reactive protein
- CRPC: castrate resistant prostate cancer
- CRPS: complex regional pain syndrome
- CRS: chronic rhinosinusitis
- CRT
- capillary refill time
- cathode ray tube
- CRT-D: cardiac resynchronisation therapy device
- CRT-P: cardiac resynchronisation therapy pacemaker
- CRTX: chemoradiotherapy
- CRUK: Cancer Research UK (charity)
- CRVO: central retinal vein occlusion
- Cryo: cryotherapy
- CS
- Caesarean section
- cavernous sinus
- chemical shift
- compressed sensing (MRI)
- coronary sinus
- corticospinal
- Cs: caesium
- C&S: culture and sensitivity
- C/S: caesarean section
- CSCR: central serous chorioretinopathy
- CSD: cortical spreading depression
- cSDH: chronic subdural haemorrhage
- CSF: cerebrospinal fluid
- CS-MRI: chemical shift MRI
- CSNT: calves soft and non tender
- CSOM: chronic serous otitis media
- CSR: central serous retinopathy
- CSS: Churg-Strauss syndrome
- CST: cervical screening test
- CSU: catheter specimen of urine
- CSW: commercial sex worker
- CT
- chemotherapy
- computed tomography
- CTA: computed tomography angiogram or aortogram
- CTAP: computed tomography of abdomen and pelvis
- CTAVN: cystic tumour of the atrioventricular node
- CTB: computed tomography of the brain
- CTC: computed tomography colonography / colonoscopy
- CTCA
- computed tomography of chest and abdomen
- computed tomography coronary angiogram
- CTCAP: computed tomography of chest, abdomen and pelvis
- CTEV: congenital talipes equinovarus
- CTD: connective tissue disease
- CTDI: CT dose index
- ctDNA: circulating-tumour DNA
- CTED: chronic thromboembolic disease
- CTEPH: chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension
- CTEV: congenital talipes equinovarus
- CTG
- cardiotocography
- caudothalamic groove
- CTH: computed tomography head
- CTIVC: computed tomography intravenous cholangiogram
- CTIVP: computed tomography intravenous pyelogram
- CTO: chronic total occlusion
- CTP: computed tomography perfusion
- CTPA: computed tomography pulmonary angiogram/angiography
- CTPE: computed tomography pulmonary embolus study
- CTR: cardiothoracic ratio
- CTS: carpal tunnel syndrome
- CTSI: CT severity index
- CTTAP: computed tomography of the thorax, abdomen and pelvis
- CTU: computed tomography urogram
- CTV
- clinical target volume
- computed tomography venogram
- CTX: chemotherapy
- CTZ: chemosensitive trigger zone
- Cu: copper (Latin: cuprum)
- CUP: cancer of unknown primary (or carcinoma of unknown primary)
- CUS: cranial ultrasound
- CV: curriculum vitae
- CVA: cerebrovascular accident (the term stroke is preferred)
- CVAD: central venous access device
- CVC: central venous catheter
- CVE: cerebrovascular event (the term stroke is preferred)
- cVEMP: cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials
- CVID: common variable immune deficiency
- CVL: central venous line
- CVP: central venous pressure
- CVS
- cardiovascular system
- chorionic villus sampling
- CWD: continuous wave Doppler
- CWP: coal workers' pneumoconiosis
- Cx
- cervix
- circumflex artery
- coccygeal vertebra (Cx1, Cx2, etc.)
- complication
- CXR: chest x-ray
- Cys: cysteine
- CZ: central zone (prostate)
- +<li>CIDP: <a title="Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy" href="/articles/chronic-inflammatory-demyelinating-polyneuropathy">chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy</a>
- +</li>
-<li>CTPE: <a href="/articles/ct-pulmonary-angiogram-technique">computed tomography pulmonary embolus study</a>- +<li>CTPE: <a href="/articles/ct-pulmonary-angiogram-protocol">computed tomography pulmonary embolus study</a>
-<li>CTU: <a href="/articles/ct-urography">computed tomography urogram</a>- +<li>CTU: <a href="/articles/ct-urography-protocol">computed tomography urogram</a>
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