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Yokota Posted 22 years ago
Medical & Dental Studies

On what ground were those abbreviations such as Dx, Fx, Hx, Sx, Tx created?

We commonly use abbreviations such as Dx for diagnosis, Fx for fracture, Hx for history, Sx for symptoms, Tx for treatment or transplant and so forth. It is quite convenient to use those abbreviations in writing a medical chart.
What I really don't understand is the reason why were those abbreviations such as Dx, Fx, Hx, Sx, Tx created by using "x"? I mean why an alphabet such as "D" followed by "x" means an abbreviation for diagnosis. Why does "x" mean an abbreviation? I can imagine that perhaps "x" means something special. But why should it be "x", not "y"?
Do you agree that this "x" might be somewhat related to the old symbol "Rx" referring to prescription?
I would appreciate it if you would provide me with some more information on my question.
  

Top answer

Interesting question! Unfortunatly i don't know the answer either. I'm writing a thesis about pancreas Tx and I'm using that abbreviation hundreds of times, but I can't imagin where it comes from.

— Idecraemer

  • Interesting question!
  • Unfortunatly i don't know the answer either.
  • I'm writing a thesis about pancreas Tx and I'm using that abbreviation hundreds of times, but I can't imagin where it comes from.
  • greets a belgian med student
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28 Answers
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Interesting question! Unfortunatly i don't know the answer either. I'm writing a thesis about pancreas Tx and I'm using that abbreviation hundreds of times, but I can't imagin where it comes from.

greets
a belgian med student
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Rx originates in the Latin. According to Stedmans Concise Medical Dictionary it means " recipe, take; prescription; treatment." It is always the first words on a prescription. They define Dx as "diagnosis" but have no history for the abbreviation. Tabers Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary defines Rx simply as "recipe". Dugas & Knor's Nursing Foundations, A Canadian Perspective defines Rx as "
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0Mabye the x is just meant to mean variable. 0-
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The x indicates period. It signifies that the preceding letter is an abbreviation.
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Rx originates from "Recipe For..." the name of the compound or medication. "Recipe For" then became abbreviated to "R4" and then to "Rx."
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According to my teachers-years back"x" or "X" stood for the unknown or "woman;s mind." Many studies indicate a movement to eliminate the use of the letter but it is doubtful if that will ever happen to the major languages. This letter has been around at least as long as the Greeks began spelling the name of Christ as "Xristos." "Diagnosis" shares with many medical abbreviations that us
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0 From my experience with the medical community over the years is that the 'x' in the abbreviation has more to do with latin than any specific relationship to the word. I don't understand why Prescription then would be Px... 0-
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1font00I think by now most of your concern is cleared. Let me add this. Ever profession has its terms coined from related early versions. This evolvement of technical terms depend on multitude of reasons. One of them is the ease of reference. Natural development of language has no set rules or terms to follow. People maek language and they themselves twist it in ways th
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I don't know officially, but "X" is commonly used in all sorts of standard, speciffic field, related abbreviations, i.e. in mathematics,and most speciffically, algebraic expreesions, "solve for x". Everyone knows it is some number and the letter "X" is used so infrequently in the English language, it became a handy term for meaning the word "number." In aviaition and radio communications, "X" "
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