MT Reference Style Guide

   MT Reference Style Guide

MT Desk is an open source style guide created by the online medical transcription community.

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Table of Contents

• 1 Medical Transcription Grammar, Usage and Style
  • 1.1 Abbreviations and Acronyms
    • 1.1.1 Basic rules for acronyms
      • 1.1.1.1 Acronyms at the beginning of a sentence
      • 1.1.1.2 Common abbreviations
      • 1.1.1.3 Abbreviating contractions
      • 1.1.1.4 Abbreviating diagnoses and titles
      • 1.1.1.5 Abbreviations and acronyms with multiple meanings
      • 1.1.1.6 Abbreviated terms used as slang terms
      • 1.1.1.7 Abbreviations in units of measure
      • 1.1.1.8 Abbreviating terms dictated in full
      • 1.1.1.9 Abbreviations and punctuation
      • 1.1.1.10 Academic abbreviations
      • 1.1.1.11 First-time reference of an abbreviation or acronym
    • 1.1.2 Abbreviating names of organizations
    • 1.1.3 Abbreviating Latin expressions
    • 1.1.4 Plural and possessive forms of abbreviations
      • 1.1.4.1 Abbreviating plural and possessive weights and measures
      • 1.1.4.2 Abbreviating plural and possessive metric units
      • 1.1.4.3 Abbreviating a single letter possessive
      • 1.1.4.4 Plural and possessive lowercase abbreviations
    • 1.1.5 Abbreviations with multiple and/or uncertain meanings
    • 1.1.6 Abbreviating business names
    • 1.1.7 Abbreviating geographic names
    • 1.1.8 Abbreviated forms and punctuation
    • 1.1.9 Abbreviating drug administration routes
    • 1.1.10 Basic guidelines for symbols
      • 1.1.10.1 Ampersand symbol
      • 1.1.10.2 Degree symbol
      • 1.1.10.3 Ditto marks or symbol
      • 1.1.10.4 Division symbol
      • 1.1.10.5 Equal symbol
      • 1.1.10.6 Greater than and less than symbols
      • 1.1.10.7 Greek letters
      • 1.1.10.8 Minus symbol
      • 1.1.10.9 Negative symbol
      • 1.1.10.10 Number symbol
      • 1.1.10.11 Pound symbol
      • 1.1.10.12 Percent symbol
      • 1.1.10.13 Plus sign or symbol
      • 1.1.10.14 X or x symbol (by, times, magnification)
      • 1.1.10.15 Microgram symbol
  • 1.2 Capitalization
    • 1.2.1 Basic rules of capitalization
    • 1.2.2 Capitalizing personal names
    • 1.2.3 Capitalizing family titles
    • 1.2.4 Capitalizing parenthetical expressions
    • 1.2.5 Capitalizing titles with personal names
    • 1.2.6 Capitalizing titles of publications and articles
    • 1.2.7 Capitalizing credentials
    • 1.2.8 Capitalization of acronyms
    • 1.2.9 Capitalizing academic degrees and references
    • 1.2.10 Capitalizing legal references
    • 1.2.11 Capitalizing eponyms
    • 1.2.12 Capitalizing departments, divisions and specialties
    • 1.2.13 Capitalizing drug names
    • 1.2.14 Capitalizing names of organisms (genus and species)
    • 1.2.15 Capitalizing geographic names
    • 1.2.16 Capitalizing sociocultural designations
    • 1.2.17 Capitalizing events, awards and legislation
    • 1.2.18 Capitalizing computer and software terms
    • 1.2.19 Capitalizing times, seasons, holidays and deities
    • 1.2.20 Capitalizing referenced report headings
    • 1.2.21 Capitalizing hyphenated compounds
    • 1.2.22 Capitalizing brief forms
  • 1.3 Grammar
    • 1.3.1 Sentence structure
    • 1.3.2 Nouns
    • 1.3.3 Proper nouns
      • 1.3.3.1 Proper nouns: Personal names
      • 1.3.3.2 Proper nouns: Organizational names
    • 1.3.4 Plurals and Possessives
      • 1.3.4.1 Basic rules for forming plurals
      • 1.3.4.2 Irregular plural forms
      • 1.3.4.3 Plural and possessive units of time
      • 1.3.4.4 Forming plural compound nouns
      • 1.3.4.5 Forming plural proper nouns
      • 1.3.4.6 Plural personal titles
      • 1.3.4.7 Forming plural academic titles
      • 1.3.4.8 Forming plural when singular is dictated
      • 1.3.4.9 Plural forms of abbreviations
      • 1.3.4.10 Plural forms for microorganisms
      • 1.3.4.11 Nouns that are false plurals
      • 1.3.4.12 Nouns that are false singulars
      • 1.3.4.13 Use of parenthetical plurals
      • 1.3.4.14 Use of bilateral as a plural or singular form
      • 1.3.4.15 Forming plurals of foreign nouns and terms
      • 1.3.4.16 Basic rules for forming possessives
      • 1.3.4.17 Forming possessive pronouns
      • 1.3.4.18 Posessive forms of organizational names
      • 1.3.4.19 Forming possessive compound nouns
      • 1.3.4.20 Possessive forms of abbreviations
      • 1.3.4.21 Eliminating possessive form of eponyms
      • 1.3.4.22 Forming separate and joint possession
      • 1.3.4.23 Possessives standing alone (solitary possessives)
      • 1.3.4.24 Rules for inanimate objects and possessives
      • 1.3.4.25 Possessives preceding verbal nouns
      • 1.3.4.26 Use of possessives in of prepositional phrases
    • 1.3.5 Compound Words
      • 1.3.5.1 Compound adjectives
      • 1.3.5.2 Compound nouns
      • 1.3.5.3 Compound verbs
      • 1.3.5.4 Common compound words (not hyphenated)
  • 1.4 Numbers
    • 1.4.1 Patient identification numbers
    • 1.4.2 Numbers to express age
    • 1.4.3 Numbers at the beginning of a sentence
    • 1.4.4 Expressing clock time numbers
    • 1.4.5 Expressing dates as numbers
    • 1.4.6 Expressing decimal numbers
    • 1.4.7 Writing fractions as numbers
    • 1.4.8 Money values expressed as numbers
    • 1.4.9 Numbers in a sequence
    • 1.4.10 Expressing ordinal numbers
    • 1.4.11 Using numbers to express periods of time
    • 1.4.12 Numbers spelled out
    • 1.4.13 The number one used as a pronoun
    • 1.4.14 Nonspecific numbers
    • 1.4.15 Numbers in accepted usage
    • 1.4.16 Expressing numbers in plural form
    • 1.4.17 Expressing numbers in lab values
    • 1.4.18 Number - word and symbol
    • 1.4.19 Writing numbers as roman numerals
    • 1.4.20 Proper names with numbers
    • 1.4.21 Numeral-word combinations
    • 1.4.22 Using numbers to express clock reference to anatomic position
    • 1.4.23 Expressing weapon caliber numbers
    • 1.4.24 Enumerated list within a sentence
    • 1.4.25 Numbered lists
    • 1.4.26 Numbers used in over or under expressions
    • 1.4.27 Basic rules for percents, proportions, ratios and ranges
      • 1.4.27.1 Expressing number ranges
      • 1.4.27.2 Numbers used to express proportions
      • 1.4.27.3 Expressing numbers as a percentage
      • 1.4.27.4 Ratio expressions
  • 1.5 Time and Time Zones
    • 1.5.1 Military times
    • 1.5.2 Hours and minutes
  • 1.6 Measurements and Quantities
    • 1.6.1 Metric units and metric units of measure
      • 1.6.1.1 Abbreviating metric units of measure
      • 1.6.1.2 Capitalizing metric units of measure
      • 1.6.1.3 Using hyphens with metric unit expressions
      • 1.6.1.4 Using periods with metric unit expressions
      • 1.6.1.5 Metric units with exponential expressions
      • 1.6.1.6 Metric units expressed in multiplication of values
      • 1.6.1.7 Expressing concentrations in metric units
    • 1.6.2 Conventional (non-metric) units of measure
      • 1.6.2.1 Expressions of concentration in nonmetric units
      • 1.6.2.2 Expressing temperature measurements
      • 1.6.2.3 Expressing angles as units of measure
      • 1.6.2.4 Expressions of dimension (feet and inches)
  • 1.7 Punctuation
    • 1.7.1 Periods
      • 1.7.1.1 Spaces after periods
      • 1.7.1.2 Periods at the end of a numbered list
      • 1.7.1.3 Abbreviated personal and courtesy titles
    • 1.7.2 Question Mark
    • 1.7.3 Exclamation Point
    • 1.7.4 Parentheses, Braces and Brackets
    • 1.7.5 Forward slash (Virgule)
    • 1.7.6 Hyphens
      • 1.7.6.1 Hyphenating compound modifiers
      • 1.7.6.2 Hyphenating word division
      • 1.7.6.3 Hyphenating adverbs ending in -ly
      • 1.7.6.4 Hyphenating prefixes
      • 1.7.6.5 Hyphenating suffixes
      • 1.7.6.6 Hyphenating disease entities used as modifiers
      • 1.7.6.7 Hyphenating proper adjectives
      • 1.7.6.8 Hyphenating Latin expressions
      • 1.7.6.9 Hyphenating letter or number modifiers
      • 1.7.6.10 Hyphenating compound official titles
      • 1.7.6.11 Hyphenating special combinations
      • 1.7.6.12 Hyphenating temporary compounds
      • 1.7.6.13 Commonly hyphenated phrases
      • 1.7.6.14 Hyphenating noun combinations
      • 1.7.6.15 Hyphenating compounds starting with a number
      • 1.7.6.16 Hyphenating compound possessive nouns
      • 1.7.6.17 Hyphenating prefixes preceding a proper noun
      • 1.7.6.18 Suspensive hyphens
      • 1.7.6.19 Hyphenating compound numbers
      • 1.7.6.20 Hyphenating number ranges
      • 1.7.6.21 Hyphenating letter-number-symbol combinations
      • 1.7.6.22 Hyphenating eponymic names
      • 1.7.6.23 Hyphenating complementary adjectives
      • 1.7.6.24 Hyphenating proper and common noun combination
    • 1.7.7 The Comma
      • 1.7.7.1 Using a comma to separate two or more adjectives
      • 1.7.7.2 Commas in a simple series
      • 1.7.7.3 Commas and independent clauses
      • 1.7.7.4 Commas and introductory dependent clauses
      • 1.7.7.5 Commas and introductory elements
      • 1.7.7.6 Using commas with dates
      • 1.7.7.7 Commas and titles
      • 1.7.7.8 Commas and Geographic Names and Addresses
      • 1.7.7.9 Commas in units of measure
      • 1.7.7.10 Commas in drug dosages and instructions
      • 1.7.7.11 Commas in laboratory values
      • 1.7.7.12 Commas in dialogue
      • 1.7.7.13 Commas to indicate omitted words
      • 1.7.7.14 Commas in nonessential expressions
      • 1.7.7.15 Commas and interrupting elements
      • 1.7.7.16 Commas used with appositive expressions
      • 1.7.7.17 Commas to set off afterthoughts
      • 1.7.7.18 Commas and transitional expressions
      • 1.7.7.19 Genetics and chromosome punctuation
    • 1.7.8 Colons and Semicolons
      • 1.7.8.1 Using a colon between independent clauses
      • 1.7.8.2 Using a colon before lists and enumerations
      • 1.7.8.3 Using colons in expressions of time
      • 1.7.8.4 Using colons to express a ratio
      • 1.7.8.5 Using colons to set off titles and other elements
      • 1.7.8.6 Using colons in references
      • 1.7.8.7 Capitalizing after a colon
      • 1.7.8.8 Using a semicolon between independent clauses
      • 1.7.8.9 Using semicolons with transitional expressions
      • 1.7.8.10 Using a semicolon in a complex series
    • 1.7.9 Quotation Marks
  • 1.8 Usage
• 2 Common Errors in Medical Transcription
  • 2.1 Sound-alike words
    • 2.1.1 Piqued, peeked, peaked
    • 2.1.2 There, their, they're
    • 2.1.3 it, it's
    • 2.1.4 Shotty v shoddy lymphadenopathy
    • 2.1.5 Sentinel node v sentinal node
    • 2.1.6 Neural foramen v neuroforamen
    • 2.1.7 Claudication and clottication
    • 2.1.8 Bruit v. bruits
    • 2.1.9 Kerley v. curly lines
  • 2.2 Common errors
  • 2.3 Medical transcription stumper terms
• 3 Medical Transcription Editing and Proofreading
• 4 Medical Terminology
• 5 Report Formats
• 6 Terms used in the Style Guide
  • 6.1 Virgule constructions
• 7 Terms of Service
• 8 Privacy Policy
• 9 Contributors
• 10 Bibliography
• 11 Copyright
• 12 Guidelines for Editors
• 13 How to use the MT Desk Style Guide and Reference