Medical Terminology: What Does "UD" Mean?

UD is an initialism. An initialism is an abbreviation formed from the initials of words in a phrase to create something that is shorter and easier to remember. Unlike acronyms, initialisms are generally not pronounced as a word, but rather as the letters that form the initialism. There are over 55 different meanings for the initialism UD. If you see an initialism and are unsure of what it means, using the words around it, or the context of what you are reading, could give you an idea.

The most common meaning in medical terminology for the initialism UD is ut dictum. Ut dictum is from the Latin, meaning "as directed." UD is commonly written on prescriptions, telling the pharmacist the prescription for an individual should be take as directed. In addition to being written on prescriptions, a doctor may also write UD on patient charts or notes.

A common initialism in medical terminology for UD is urethral dilatation. The initialism is written as both UD and U/D. Urethral dilatation is commonly performed by urologists, but can be preformed by other doctors. It involves placing graduated dilators inside the urethra to expand or enlarge the urethra tube. The procedure is mainly used to allow urine to flow easier or as treatment for chronic urinary tract infections. Urethral dilatation is more commonly preformed on males, because females have a longer urethra, causing greater risk of scarring or infection.

A common initialism in medical terminology for UD is Urban Disease. Urban disease is a term that is rarely used in the medical field, but the term may still be present in old medical files and research. An urban disease is a disease caused by the chemicals or other substances present in a given environment. The substances are normally drugs, food additives, pesticides and industrial products. If the population of an entire town, neighborhood or other area was falling ill, based on the misuse of a pesticide, the doctor would determine that the inhabitants were suffering from an urban disease, a condition primarily restricted within their community. However, doctors today provide a much more thorough diagnosis and the term is rarely used.

A common initialism in medical terminology for UD is Ultra-Diagnostics. Ultra-Diagnostics is a diagnostic medical company that is developing new ultrasound technologies and new products to assist with diagnosis of conditions of the brain. The new products are being developed with the hopes that they will enhance the quality of the images currently being obtained from diagnostic tests and reduce the cost for patient care when diagnostic tests are required.

A common initialism in medical terminology in the care of animals for UD is ulcerative dermatosis. Ulcerative dermatosis is an infectious disease of sheep, felines and certain breeds of dogs that is thought to be caused by a virus. The disease is characterized by crusted ulcers in the skin of the animals, normally located on their face, feet and genitalia.