The use of abbreviations in prescriptions is very common. Understanding abbreviations in prescriptions reduce medication errors. Illegible writing, misreading, shortcuts written by the prescribers and poor knowledge of users are common problems. Inappropriate abbreviations in prescriptions lead to wrong medication therefore it is essential to educate health care professionals while administering medication. Some common abbreviations used in Veterinary prescriptions are listed below. Rx Rx is a formal communication from a physician to a pharmacist. It comes from the Latin word meaning ‘recipe’ used in medicine or pharmacy. Common abreviations aa - of each a - before ad lib - free choice admov. - apply alt. h. - every other hour amp - ampule amt - amount aq - water, aqueous bid - twice daily bis - twice c - with cap - capsule cf - with food comp - compound cr./crm - cream D.W. - Distilled water dil. - dilute disp. - dispense div. - divide dos - dose eq. pts - equal parts fl./fld. - fluid g - gram h - hour I.Ma - Intramammary I.U - intrauterine I/M - intramuscular I/V - intravenous ID - intradermal Imp - implantation Inj. - injection IP - intraperitoneal IVP - intravenous push lb - pound (450gm) lid. - three times daily lin - liniment lot - lotion M- mix m/min - minimum mEq - milliequivalent mL - millilitre N.M.T. - not more than nebul - a spray no - number Noct. - at night O.D - Oral daily O.D.W- Oral drinking water O.T- Oral tablets Oz - ounce (28.33 gm) p.v - powder q.a.d. - every other day q.a.m. - every day before noon q.d.s. - four times a day q.p.m. - every day after noon q.s - as much needed qid - four times daily S/C - subcutaneous Sid - once daily soln - solution ss - half State - immediately supp - suppository susp - suspension syr - syrup T.A - Tropical application Tab - tablet tbs - table spoonful tsp - tea spoonful V/V - volume by volume w/o - without W/V - weight by volume wk - week X - times Content contributors Saroj Rai, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Eastern Regional Station, Kalyani, West Bengal. Email : drsaroj.rai@gmail.com Rani Alex, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana