Medical abbreviations and acronyms (P)

This article contains a list of commonly used medical abbreviations and acronyms that start with the letter P and may be encountered in medicine and radiology (please keep 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

• P
  • P wave on ECG
  • peta (SI prefix for 10¹⁵)
  • phosphorus
  • progesterone
  • proline (single letter amino acid code)
• p
  • pico (SI prefix for 10^-12)
  • short arm of a chromosome
• PA
  • pernicious anaemia
  • peroneal artery
  • placenta accreta
  • posterior-anterior or posteroanterior
  • psoriatic arthritis
  • pulmonary artery
  • pyloric antrum
• Pa: protactinium
• PAC: premature atrial contraction
• PaCO₂: partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood
• PACS
  • picture archiving and communication system
  • primary angle-closure syndrome
• PAD: peripheral artery disease
• PAE: posterior acoustic enhancement
• PAF
  • paroxysmal atrial fibrillation
  • pregnancy after infertility
• PAH: pulmonary arterial hypertension
• PAL: posterior axillary line
• PAM
  • primary amoebic meningoencephalitis
  • pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis
• PAN: polyarteritis nodosa
•  PANDAS: pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with a streptococci
• PaNS: parasympathetic nervous system
• PANS: pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome
• PaO₂: partial pressure of oxygen in the blood
• PAP
  • Papanicolaou stain/test
  • positive airway pressure
  • pulmonary alveolar proteinosis
  • pulmonary arterial pressure
  • prostatic acid phosphatase
• PAPA syndrome: pyogenic arthritis, pyoderma gangrenosum, and acne
• PAPP-A: pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A
• PAPVR: partial anomalous pulmonary venous return
• PAS: posterior acoustic shadowing
• PaS: parasubiculum
• PASH: pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia
• PASTA
  • partial articular supraspinatus tendon avulsion
  • partial articular surface tendon avulsion
• PAT: paroxysmal atrial tachycardia
• Path: pathology
• PAU: penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer
• PAVR: percutaneous aortic valve replacement
• PB: petabyte
• Pb: lead (Latin: plumbum)
• PBA
  • payment by activity
  • push bike accident
• PBC: primary biliary cirrhosis
• PBR: payment by results
• PC
  • packed (red blood) cells
  • personal computer
  • political correctness, politically correct
  • posterior commissure
  • presenting complaint
• PCA
  • patient-controlled analgesia
  • pilocytic astrocytoma
  • posterior cerebral artery
  • posterior cortical atrophy
• PCCP: percutaneous compression plate
• PCCT: photon-counting computed tomography
• PCD
  • phlegmasia cerulea dolens
  • post-concussional disorder
  • posterior ciliary dyskinesia
  • programmed cell death
• PCI
  • percutaneous coronary intervention
  • pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis
  • posterolateral corner injury
• PCKD: polycystic kidney disease
• PCL: posterior cruciate ligament
• PCM: plasmacytoma
• PCNSL: primary CNS lymphoma
• PCO: polycystic ovaries
• PCOS: polycystic ovarian syndrome
• PCP
  • phencyclidine
  • pneumocystis jirovecii (carinii) pneumonia
  • primary care physician (US)
• PCR
  • polymerase chain reaction
  • protein:creatinine ratio
• PCS: post-concussional syndrome
• PCV
  • packed cell volume
  • polycythaemia vera
• PCWP: pulmonary capillary wedge pressure
• PD
  • pancreas divisum
  • pancreatic duct
  • Parkinson disease
  • peritoneal dialysis
  • personality disorder
  • program director
  • progressive disease (malignancy)
  • proton density
• Pd: palladium
• PDA
  • patent ductus arteriosus
  • posterior descending artery
• PDAC: pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
• PDD
  • pervasive developmental disorder
  • progressive diaphyseal dysplasia
• PDF: portable document format
• PDP: pachydermoperiostosis
• PDx: provisional diagnosis
• PE
  • phase encoding 
  • physical exam
  • pleural effusion
  • pre-eclampsia
  • premature ejaculation
  • pulmonary embolus
• PEA
  • photoelectric absorption
  • pulmonary endarterectomy
  • pulseless electrical activity
• PEARL: pupils equal and reactive to light
• PEATS: prostatic evasive anterior tumour syndrome
• PEC: percutaneous endoscopic colostomy
• PEEK: polyetheretherketone
• PEEP: positive end-expiratory pressure
• PEF: peak expiratory flow
• PEG
  • percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy
  • pneumoencephalography
• PEJ: percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy
• PEJV: posterior external jugular vein
• PEP: post-exposure prophylaxis
• PEPSI: post-exposure prophylaxis (after) sexual intercourse
• PERC: pulmonary embolism rule-out criteria
• PERCIST: positron emission tomography response criteria in solid tumors
• PERLA: pupils equal and reactive to light and accommodation
• PESI: pulmonary embolism severity index
• PEST analysis: political, economic, social and technological
• PESTLE analysis: political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental
• PET
  • positron emission tomography
  • pre-eclampsia toxaemia
• PFA: profunda femoris artery
• PFAPA syndrome - periodic fever, aphthous pharyngitis and cervical adenopathy syndrome
• PFFD: proximal femoral focal deficiency
• PFH: past family history
• PFHx: past family history
• PFHT: plexiform fibrohistiocytic tumour
• PFJ: patellofemoral joint
• PFL: popliteofibular ligament
• PFO
  • patent foramen ovale
  • pissed (UK slang for inebriated), fell over
• PFTs: pulmonary function tests
• PG: postgraduate
• pg: picogram
• PGCS: paediatric Glasgow Coma Scale
• PGY: postgraduate year (US/Canada)
• PH
  • past (medical) history
  • pulmonary hypertension
• pH: potential of hydrogen
• PHA: proper hepatic artery
• PHAT: pleomorphic hyalinizing angiectatic tumour
• Phe: phenylalanine
• PHP: pseudohypoparathyroidism
• PHTN: pulmonary hypertension
• PHVD: posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilatation
• PI
  • present illness
  • primary immunodeficiency
  • primary infertility
  • principal investigator
  • product information
  • protease inhibitor
  • pulsatility index
• PIC: pain in chest
• PICA: posterior inferior cerebellar artery
• PICC: peripherally inserted central catheter
• PICO: patient, problem or population; intervention; comparison, control or comparator; outcome (EBM process)
• PICU: paediatric intensive care unit
• PID
  • pelvic inflammatory disease
  • prolapsed intervertebral disc
• PIE
  • pelvic infiltrative endometriosis
  • pulmonary infiltrates with eosinophilia
  • pulmonary interstitial emphysema
• PIH: pregnancy-induced hypertension
• PIIS: posterior inferior iliac spine
• PIM: potentially inappropriate medication
• PIMS-TS: paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2
• PIN
  • posterior interosseous nerve
  • prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia
• PIOPED: prospective investigation of pulmonary embolism diagnosis
• PIPJ: proximal interphalangeal joint
• PI-RADS: prostate imaging reporting and data system
• PISAPED: prospective investigative study of acute pulmonary embolism diagnosis
• PIT: pituitary
• PITAND: pediatric infection-triggered autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders
• PITFL: posterior inferior tibiofibular ligament
• Pixel: picture element
• PJK: proximal junctional kyphosis
• PJP: pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia
• PJS: Peutz-Jeghers syndrome
• PKD: polycystic kidney disease
• PKU: phenylketonuria
• PLC
  • posterior ligamentous complex (of the spine) 
  • posterolateral corner of the knee
• PLCH: pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis
• PLE: panlobular emphysema
• PLIF: posterior lumbar interbody fusion
• PLL: posterior longitudinal ligament
• PLND: pelvic lymph node dissection
• PLT: platelet
• PLV: posterior left ventricular (artery)
• PM
  • partial mastectomy
  • polymyositis
  • postmortem
• Pm: promethium
• PMB: post menopausal bleeding
• PMC:
  • posteromedial corner of the knee
  • PubMed Central
• PMF
  • progressive massive fibrosis
  • pterygomaxillary fissure
  • popliteomeniscal fascicles
• PMID: PubMed identifier
• PMH: past medical history
• PMHx: past medical history
• PMitCEBO: prednisolone, mitoxantrone, cyclophosphamide, etoposide, bleomycin, Oncovin® (vincristine)
• PML: progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
• PMMA: polymethylmethacrylate
• pmol: picomole
• PMR: papillary muscle rupture
• PMSAH: perimesencephalic subarachnoid haemorrhage
• PND
  • paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea
  • postnasal drip
• PNET: primitive neuroectodermal tumour
• PNG: portable network graphics
• PNIF: peak nasal inspiratory flow
• PNS
  • perineural spread
  • peripheral nervous system
  • post-nasal space
• PO
  • per oral
  • postoperative
• POC: products of conception
• POCT: point of care testing
• POCUS: point-of-care ultrasonography
• POD
  • postoperative day (number)
  • pouch of Douglas
• polio: poliomyelitis
• POL: posterior oblique ligament
• POLO: periodic occurrence of laryngeal obstruction
• POMP: phase offset multiplanar (GE)
• POP
  • plaster of Paris
  • post-operative pain
• POPUMET: protection of persons undergoing medical examination or treatment (old UK regulations)
• PORP: partial ossicular replacement prosthesis
• PoS: postsubiculum
• POTS: postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome
• PP
  • on behalf of (signing letters for someone else) (Latin: per procurationem)
  • parts per
  • private patient
  • proximal phalanx
• PPB: parts per billion
• PPC: posterior parahepatic cyst
• PPCS: post polypectomy coagulation syndrome
• PPE
  • personal protective equipment
  • postpneumonectomy pulmonary edema 
• PPF: pterygopalatine fossa
• PPH: postpartum haemorrhage
• PPHP: pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
• PPI: permanent pacemaker insertion
• PPM
  • parts per million
  • permanent pacemaker
• PPMS: primary progressive multiple sclerosis
• PPI: proton pump inhibitor
• PPO: postpneumonectomy pulmonary oedema
• PPROM: preterm premature rupture of membranes
• PPS: parapharyngeal space
• PPT
  • parts per trillion
  • precipitant/precipitate/precipitated
• PPV
  • patent processus vaginalis
  • positive predictive value
• PR
  • partial response (RECIST)
  • per rectum
  • pulmonary regurgitation
  • pulse rate
  • P wave to R wave interval on an ECG
• Pr: praseodymium
• PRC
  • packed red cells
  • proximal row carpectomy
• PrCa: prostate cancer
• PREP: pre-exposure prophylaxis
• PRES: posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome
• PRESS: Point-RESolved Spectroscopy
• PRF: pulse repetition frequency
• PRICE: protection, rest, ice, compression and elevation
• Primips: primipara
• PRL: prolactin
• PRN: as required (drug prescriptions, Latin: pro re nata)
• Pro
  • professional
  • proline
• Prof: professor
• PROG: progesterone
• PROM
  • patient-reported outcome measure
  • premature rupture of membranes
• PROPELLER: periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction
• ProS: prosubiculum
• PRP: platelet-rich plasma
• PRRT: peptide receptor radionuclide therapy
• PrS: presubiculum
• PS
  • pubic symphysis
  • pulmonary stenosis
• PSA: prostate specific antigen
• PsA: psoriatic arthritis
• PSAD: prostate specific antigen density
• PSAH: pseudosubarachnoid haemorrhage
• PSAP: prostate specific acid phosphatase
• PSAV: prostate specific antigen velocity
• PSB
  • pansystolic spectral broadening
  • posterior skull base
• PSC: primary sclerosing cholangitis
• PSCC: posterior semicircular canal
• PSD: peak skin dose
• PSIR: phase-sensitive inversion recovery
• PSIS: posterior superior iliac spine
• PSMA: prostate specific membrane antigen
• PSP
  • photostimulable phosphor plate
  • progressive supranuclear palsy
• PSS: progressive systemic sclerosis
• PSV: peak systolic velocity
• PT
  • patient
  • physiotherapy (AmE: physical therapy)
  • prothrombin time
  • pubic tubercle
  • pulmonary trunk
• Pt
  • patient
  • platinum
• PTA
  • posterior tibial artery
  • post traumatic amnesia
  • pure tone audiogram
• PTB
  • petrous temporal bone
  • posterior tension band (of the spine)
  • preterm birth
  • pulmonary tuberculosis
• PTC
  • papillary thyroid cancer
  • percutaneous transhepatic cholecystostomy
• PTCA: percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty
• PTFJ: proximal tibiofibular joint
• PTFL: posterior talofibular ligament
• PTH: parathyroid hormone
• PTJD: proximal tibiofibular joint dislocation
• PTSD: post-traumatic stress disorder
• PTU: propylthiouracil
• PTV: planning target volume
• PTX: pneumothorax
• PU: per urethra
• PUC: prostatic utricle cyst
• PUD: peptic ulcer disease
• PUJ: pelviureteric/pyeloureteric junction
• PUL: pregnancy of unknown location
• PUO: pyrexia of unknown origin
• PUV
  • posterior urethral valves
  • pregnancy of unknown viability
• PV
  • pemphigus vulgaris
  • periventricular nucleus
  • per vagina
  • polycythaemia vera
  • portal vein
  • portal venous (phase)
  • pulmonary valve
  • peduncular vein
• PVC
  • polyvinyl chloride
  • premature ventricular contraction
• PVD
  • peripheral vascular disease
  • posterior vitreous detachment
• PVI: pulmonary vein isolation
• PVIA: pulmonary vein isolation ablation
• PVL
  • periventricular leucomalacia
  • periventricular lucency
• PVOD: pulmonary veno-occlusive disease
• PVP: portal venous phase
• PVR
  • postvoid residual volume
  • pulmonary valve replacement
  • pulmonary vascular resistance
• PVS: perivascular space
• PWB: partial weight bearing
• PWD: pulsed wave Doppler
• PW Doppler: pulsed wave Doppler
• PX: patient experience
• Px
  • pixel
  • prognosis
• PXR: pelvis x-ray
• PY: pack-year
• PZ: peripheral zone (prostate)