Medical abbreviations and acronyms (D)

This article contains a list of commonly used medical abbreviations and acronyms that start with the letter D and may be encountered in medicine and radiology (please keep both the main list and any sublists in alphabetic order).

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• D
  • aspartic acid (single letter amino acid code)
  • day
  • diarrhoea
  • distal
  • dorsal 
• D1, D2, D3, D4: 1^st - 4^th parts of the duodenum
• D1, D2, etc.: day one post op, day two post op, etc.
• D1-D12 (dorsal vertebrae: alternative to T1-T12)
• D&C: dilation and curettage
• DA: dopamine
• Da: dalton
• DAD: diffuse alveolar damage
• DAH: diffuse alveolar haemorrhage
• DAI: diffuse axonal injury
• DAPLD: domestically acquired particulate lung disease
• DAPT: dual antiplatelet therapy
• DAT: dopamine active transporter (DaTSCAN)
• DAVF: dural arteriovenous fistula
• dB: decibel
• DBP: diastolic blood pressure
• DBS: deep brain stimulation
• DC
  • descending colon
  • direct current
  • discharge
• D&C: dilation and curettage
• D/C: discharge
• DCD: donation before cardiac death
• DCDA: dichorionic diamniotic
• DCE: dynamic contrast enhancement
• DCG: dacrocystogram
• DCI: delayed cerebral ischaemia
• DCIA: deep circumflex iliac artery
• DCIS: ductal carcinoma in situ
• DCM: dilated cardiomyopathy
• DCR: digitised chest radiograph
• DD
  • differential diagnosis
  • duodenal diverticulum
• DDD
  • degenerative disc disease
  • dual pacing, dual sensing and dual response pacemaker mode
• DDMFR: Diploma in Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology (UK)
• DDx: differential diagnosis
• DEB: drug-eluting balloon
• DEB-TACE: drug-eluting bead transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation
• DECT: dual-energy CT
• defib: defibrillator
• DENV: dengue viruses
• deoxyHb: deoxygenated haemoglobin
• DES
  • diethylstilboestrol
  • drug-eluting stent
• DESS: double echo steady state sequence
• DEXA: dual energy x-ray absorptiometry
• DF118: dihydrocodeine (common name in the UK)
• DFI: diabetic foot infection
• DFR: distal femoral replacement
• dGEMRIC: delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage
• DGH: district general hospital (UK)
• DHEA: dihydroepiandrosterone
• DI: diabetes insipidus
• DIC: disseminated intravascular coagulation
• DICOM: digital imaging and communications in medicine
• DIEP: deep inferior epigastric perforators
• DIH: direct inguinal hernia
• DILI: drug-induced liver injury
• DIP: desquamative interstitial pneumonia
• DIPI: direct intraperitoneal insemination
• DIPJ: distal interphalangeal joint
• DIPNECH: diffuse idiopathic neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia
• DIR: double inversion recovery
• DISH: diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis
• DISI: dorsal intercalated segment instability
• DJBL: duodenal–jejunal bypass liner
• DJD: degenerative joint disease
• DJF: duodenojejunal flexure
• DKA: diabetic ketoacidosis
• DLBCL: diffuse large B cell lymphoma
• DLB: dementia with Lewy bodies
• DLCO: diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide
• DLP
  • dose-length product
  • double-layered patella
• DM: diabetes mellitus
• DMBSG: diffuse midline brainstem glioma
• DMD: Duchenne muscular dystrophy
• DMRD: Diploma in Medical Radiodiagnosis
• DMRE: Diploma in Medical Radiology and Electrology
• DMS: diagnostic medical sonography
• DMSA: dimercaptosuccinic acid
• DNA
  • deoxyribonucleic acid
  • did not attend
• DNAR: do not attempt resuscitation
• DNB: Diplomate of National Board
• DNC: dilation and curettage
• DNET: dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumour
• DNR: do not resuscitate
• DOA: dead on arrival
• DOAC: direct oral anticoagulant
• DOB: date of birth
• DOE: dyspnoea on exertion
• DOI: digital object identifier
• DORV: double outlet right ventricle
• DOT: directly observed therapy
• DOTA: 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid
• DP: distal phalanx
• DPA: dorsalisdorsalis pedis artery
• DPH: diffuse pulmonary haemorrhage
• DPT: diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (vaccine)
• DR: distal radius
• DR: delayed ratio 
• DRG
  • diagnosis-related group
  • dorsal root ganglion
• DRR: digitally reconstructed radiographs 
• DRUJ: distal radioulnar joint
• DS
  • Down syndrome
  • Dressler syndrome
• DSA: digital subtraction angiography
• DSM
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  • dural sinus malformation
• DSM-V: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
• DSPA: digital subtraction pulmonary angiography
• DT: delirium tremens
• DTaP: diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (vaccine)
• DTI: diffusion tensor imaging
• DTP: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (vaccine)
• DTPA: diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid
• DTR: deep tendon reflexes
• DTS: double tissue sampling
• DTT: diffusion tensor tractography
• DU: duodenal ulcer
• DV: domestic violence
• DVD: digital versatile disc
• DVT: deep vein thrombosis
• D/W: discussion with
• DWI: diffusion weighted imaging
• DWM: Dandy-Walker malformation
• Dx: diagnosis
• DXA: dual energy x-ray absorptiometry
• DXT: deep x-ray therapy
• Dy: dysprosium
• DZ: dizygote