CG Diction-Ary

Here you will find the CG way to explain some of the medical terms and hospital jargon that is brought up in the blog, that a lot of CFers and families know about, but some other friends/fam might say, "huhwhat?" about. These are not medical definitions, they are in my own words.

Alpha-Order, for your Alpha-Ease.

"CF"- Cystic Fibrosis, as in "I have C bleeping F."

"CFRD"- Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes, as in "I can't believe that because of CF, I know have CFRD."

Endometriosis- Uterine (as in, uterus) tissue growing outside of the uterus itself. (no funny example sentences available.)

"FEV1"- Forced Expiratory Volume over 1 second: during a pulmonary function test (PFT), a patient's ability to blow out a volume of air in the first second of exhaling. An important measurement of pulmonary health. As in, "What's your FEV1?" or "My FEV1 is 16%."

"FVC" - Forced Vital Capacity: during a pulmonary function test (PFT), an important measurement of pulmonary health. As above.

"Line" - an i.v. line. As in "It took them three attempts to place the line" or "My line hurts."

"nn" - CysticGal or CysticLady on twitter, text, or facebook, for "nightie night" or "goodnight," as in "I have to nn, call me," or "nn u weirdo."

"O2"- Chemistry and everyday abbreviation for oxygen. As in "How's your O2?" "Do you have enough O2?"

"PICC"- Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter: a central line for the delivery of i.v. medications, typically placed in the arm, accessed outside of the skin. As in, "If I have to get another PICC I will go crazy."

"PFT"- Pulmonary Function Test: a test a pulmonary patient completes where s/he blows into a tube. Various measurements are taken.

"Port"- Port-a-Catheter: A central catheter line for the delivery of i.v. medications. Usually placed in the chest of the patient, accessed under the skin.

Pulmonary Endometriosis- Growth of endometrial tissue outside of the lungs, but inside of the rib cage.

"SAT"- abbreviation for "saturation," referring to "oxygen saturation."

Transplant- In CF, a patient can be referring to a double or single-lung transplant, a living donor lung transplant or a heart/lung transplant (among other organs).

"tx"- an abbreviation used for Transplant. Similarly, "post-tx" or "pre-tx" means, "pre" or "post-transplant"

Can't find something? Leave a comment here and I'll add it.