There have been recent articles and letters in Radiology commenting on the use of acronyms. These articles refer to the use of medical nomenclature, although they may be using that nomenclature incorrectly. Hence, slight clarification may be needed. The Oxford online dictionary (1) defines an acronym as "an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word." AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a common medical example; NASA, scuba, and radar are common nonmedical examples. To put this another way, acronyms are abbreviations pronounced as a word.
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