This document defines common medical abbreviations related to the eyes and ears. It provides the abbreviation, term, and definition for each of the following: PE tube, EENT, BC, AU, OM, EM, XT, OS, EOM, and VA. The abbreviations cover terms such as pressure equalizing tube, bone conduction, both ears, otitis media, emmetropia, exotropia, left eye, extraocular movement, and visual acuity.

1. Medical Abbreviations
Of the Eyes and Ears
Wednesday July 16, 2014
Emily Larson

2. Pressure Equalizing Tube
PE tube

3. PE tube
Small, surgically
placed tube in a
child’s eardrum to
assist in draining
trapped fluid and
equalizing pressure
between the middle
ear cavity and the
atmosphere

4. Eye, Ears, Nose, and Throat
EENT

5. EENT
Refers to the eyes,
ears, nose and throat
and to the medical
specialists involved in
treating these areas

6. Bone Conduction
BC

7. BC
Refers to the
conduction of sound
by the bones of the
skull
Tested in the Rinne
and Weber tuning-fork
tests

8. Both Ears
AU

9. AU
Stands for auris
utraque
Means both or each
ear

10. Otitis Media
OM

11. OM
Refers to a
middle ear
infection that is
seen frequently in
children

12. Emmetropia
EM

13. EM
Refers to the state of
normal vision

14. Exotropia
XT

15. XT
Refers to the outward
turning of the eye
Sometimes called wall-
eyed

16. Left Eye
OS

17. OS
Stands for oculus
sinister
Meaning the left eye

18. Extraocular Movement
EOM

19. EOM
Refers to movements
made by the
extraocular eye
muscles, or the
muscles outside of the
eyeball

20. Visual Acuity
VA

21. VA
Refers to the
sharpness of an
individual’s vision
A visual acuity test
usually involves a
patient identifying
letters from a distance
of 20 ft