Preferred Spellings and Usage
A
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
acetyl CoA | acetyl-CoA (with hyphen) |
acetyl-coenzyme A | acetyl coenzyme A (no hyphen) |
α cell | alpha cell |
adapter | adaptor |
African American or African-American etc. | Either hyphenated or unhyphenated is OK but make consistent (both allowed in Merriam-Webster and unhyphenated in OED) |
Akaike information criterion | Akaike’s information criterion |
AKT | Akt (this is treated as the protein name, rather than an abbreviation, and does not need to be written in full) |
albumin-to-creatinine ratio (or other variations) | albumin/creatinine ratio |
amido black | Amido Black |
(amino acid chains) | Gly-Lys-Ala |
amphetamine (USAN) | amfetamine (INN) |
anti-diabetic drug | glucose-lowering drug or hypoglycaemic drug |
anti-oxidant | antioxidant |
apolipoproteins | If using abbreviation, format as e.g. ApoA-I, ApoB-100 (initial capital) |
around [e.g. 3 ml urine] | about 3 ml urine |
B
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
base line | baseline |
B-cell | B cell |
β cell | beta cell (but β OK for chemicals, etc.) |
beta blocker | β-blocker |
biobreeding (BB) rats | BioBreeding (BB) rats |
birth weight | birthweight |
bisulfite | bisulphite |
Black/White or black/white (race) | initial capital or lower case acceptable – make consistent |
breast-fed, breast-feeding | breastfed, breastfeeding |
C
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
C or COOH terminal | C- or COOH-terminal (hyphen optional with terminus) |
C3 | C-3 (third carbon atom) C3 (chain of three carbon atoms) |
calorie | energy (e.g. low-energy diet, % of energy from fat; note that the abbreviation VLCD [very low calorie diet] is acceptable) |
cAMP | cyclic AMP (or use cAMP as a defined abbreviation) |
CD4+ | CD4+ |
C peptide | C-peptide |
caesarean | Caesarean |
case−cohort | case-cohort (with hyphen − N-rule is not appropriate as cases fall within the cohort) |
case-control | case−control (with N-rule) |
Chinese Han | Han Chinese |
chi-square test | χ2 test |
cholecalciferol | vitamin D3 |
cholesterol ester | cholesteryl ester |
Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel | Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel |
Cochran’s Q | Cochran’s Q |
Coenzyme Q10 | Coenzyme Q10 |
colocalise | co-localise |
co-morbid | comorbid |
co-ordinate | coordinate |
Cox-Mantel | Cox–Mantel |
coxsackie | Coxsackie (upper case C as named after the town of Coxsackie, although sometimes lower case when used as the vernacular; Coxsackie B virus and Coxsackievirus B are both acceptable) |
credible interval | Abbreviate to CrI (not CI) |
cross over | crossover |
Cross-talk | crosstalk |
C-statistic | C statistic (upper case C, non-italic, no hyphen) |
Ct | Ct (cycle threshold: upright font) |
cytochrome c | cytochrome c (c in italics) |
D
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
dark-grey | dark grey |
data is | data are (plural) |
data set | dataset |
day time/day-time | daytime [no hyphen] |
deuterated | 2H-labelled or similar (e.g. 2H2O) |
df | df |
D glucose | d-glucose (small cap) (Capital G if at the beginning of a sentence) |
DI | DI (disposition index) |
diabetic/diabetics | avoid referring to people as ‘diabetics’ – use ‘person with diabetes’, ‘diabetic individual’ etc. |
diabetic pregnancy | pregnancy affected by diabetes, diabetic woman etc.(depending on context) |
dietician | dietitian |
disk | for computer disk |
DM | diabetes mellitus (do not use DM in text. It may be used in the tables and figures with a written-out explanation) |
dose | dose refers to single amount of a drug |
dosage | dosage also includes details of the timing |
double blinded | double-blinded |
down-regulate | downregulate |
drop-out | dropout |
E
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
EIF | eIF (eukaryotic initiation factor, e is generally styled as lower case) |
electrophoretic mobility-shift assay | electrophoretic mobility shift assay |
EMPA-REG OUTCOME | EMPA-REG OUTCOME® (confirm with authors that it is correct to add the ® symbol. No need to write in full) |
end point | endpoint |
end product | end-product |
enzymic | enzymatic |
et al. | et al (no full point) |
etiology | aetiology |
euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp | euglycaemic−hyperinsulinaemic clamp |
evidenced-based | evidence-based |
F
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
first born/first-born | firstborn |
firstly, secondly, thirdly … | first, second, third |
FGM | flash glucose monitoring (or OK to abbreviate to FM [flash monitoring]) |
focussed | focused |
foetus/foetal | fetus/fetal |
follow up | follow-up (when used as an adjective or noun rather than verb) |
free cholesterol | non-esterified cholesterol |
free fatty acids | non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) |
f-test | F test |
G
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
glitazone | thiazolidinedione |
glucose-6-phosphate | glucose 6-phosphate but glucose-6-phosphatase (note hyphenation) |
glutathione S-tranferase | glutathione S-transferase (S in italics) |
glycaemia | raise AQ to ask if ‘blood glucose’ or similar would be more appropriate |
guinea-pig | guinea pig |
H
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
HbA1c | HbA1c (note styling i.e. lower case subscript c) |
HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, etc. | HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, etc. |
Hank’s balanced salt solution | Hanks’ balanced salt solution |
health care | healthcare |
high fat diet | high-fat diet |
high fat fed | high-fat-fed (not high fat-fed, high-fat fed etc.) |
hind limb | hindlimb |
HSV1 | HSV-1 herpes simplex virus 1 |
hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp | hyperinsulinaemic−euglycaemic clamp |
I
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
IDDM patient | type 1 diabetic patient |
interleukin 2 | interleukin-2 (with hyphen) |
IL 2 | IL-2 (with hyphen) |
intima-media thickness | intima–media thickness (en-dash) |
J
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
JDRF | Correct name of the charity (formerly Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). No need to expand |
K
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
Kaplan-Meier | Kaplan–Meier (en-dash) |
KD | kDa (abbreviation for kilodaltons) |
knock-in | knockin |
knock-out | knockout |
L
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
L-cell | L cell |
leukemia | leukaemia |
light-grey | light grey |
Log | log (lower case l, and space, e.g. log triacylglycerol) |
log rank | logrank |
lumenal | luminal |
M
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
MAFA | MafA (a transcription factor) |
male, female as nouns | men, women |
Mann-Whitney U test | Mann–Whitney U test (en-dash) |
Medline | MEDLINE |
metabolic syndrome | the metabolic syndrome |
methods methodology | Not interchangeable. Methodology is a system of methods used in a particular area of study |
Mexican American, Mexican-American | Either hyphenated or unhyphenated is OK but make consistent |
mm Hg | mmHg (closed up) |
MTOR | mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) |
M value | M value (insulin sensitivity) |
Myanmar | Burma |
N
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
N or NH2 terminal | N- or NH2-terminal (hyphen optional with terminus) |
naïve | naive (no diaeresis) |
Neuman-Keuls | Neuman–Keuls (en-dash) |
neurone | neuron |
NFκB | NF-κB |
NICE | Expansion is the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (from 2013) |
NIDDM | type 2 diabetes |
night time | night-time [include hypen] |
nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice | non-obese diabetic mice (note that NOD is an accepted abbreviation) |
Northern blot | northern blot |
O
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
OD (optical density) | absorbance (the preferred technical term) |
OD450 etc | absorbance at 450 nm |
omega fatty acid | n-3 fatty acid (hyphen not en dash) |
‘omics’ | omics (this term is OK with no need for quote marks) |
on line | online |
out-patient | outpatient |
over-express | overexpress |
over-nutrition | overnutrition |
overrepresent | over-represent |
over-stimulate | overstimulate |
P
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
pancreata | pancreases |
parameter | variable (note that this change is not always appropriate; parameter may be correct in a mathematical context. Always raise a standard AQ) |
parasthesias | parasthesiae |
penicillin streptomycin | penicillin−streptomycin |
percent | per cent |
periodic acid-schiff’s reagent | periodic acid–Schiff’s reagent (en-dash, capital S) |
peroxisome proliferative-activated receptor, gamma, coactivator 1, alpha | peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, gamma, coactivator 1, alpha |
persons | people |
person years | person-years |
phase 1/2 (trial) | Phase I/II (upper case P, Roman numerals) |
phosphorylase a | phosphorylase a (a in italics) |
post-hoc | post hoc (no hyphen) |
post-natal | postnatal |
post-prandial | postprandial |
posttranscriptional | post-transcriptional |
posttranslational | post-translational |
preadipocytes | pre-adipocytes |
pre-diabetic | prediabetic |
pre-prandial | preprandial |
prepregnancy | pre-pregnancy |
pro-inflammatory | proinflammatory |
pro-insulin | proinsulin |
program | programme (but program is correct for computer program or when referring to cellular programming) |
Pubmed | PubMed |
Q
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
quantitation, quantitate | quantification, quantify |
R
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
Ra, Rd (rate of appearance, rate of disappearance) | Ra, Rd |
READ codes | Read codes |
realtime | real-time (if adjective), otherwise real time |
real-time PCR | Don’t abbreviate to RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) |
receiver operator characteristic | receiver operating characteristic |
red blood cell | erythrocyte |
re-fed, re-feeding | refed, refeeding |
regime(n) | regimen (treatment routine) regime (governmental system) |
regular insulin | short-acting insulin |
ROC | Precede by ‘a’ rather than ‘an’ (pronounced as ‘rock’) |
rpm | rev/min (appropriate for shakers; convert to g for centrifuge speed) |
S
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
sacrificed | killed |
side-effect | side effect (unless adjectival) |
skinfold | skinfold thickness (but keep ‘sum of skinfolds’, and ‘skinfold’ can be used in tables/figures) |
SNP | Precede by ‘a’ rather than ‘an’ (pronounced as ‘snip’) |
socio-economic | socioeconomic |
Sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 | Sodium−glucose cotransporter 2 |
south Asian | South Asian |
southern blot | Southern blot (for DNA) (invented by Prof. Southern, hence capital S) |
Sprague-Dawley | Sprague Dawley (no hyphen or N rule) |
St. | St (contraction, not abbreviation) |
streptozotocin | streptozocin (INN name; often abbreviated to STZ, but needs to be defined) |
Student-Neuman-Keuls | Student–Neuman–Keuls (en-dash) |
Students t-test | Student’s t test |
sub-group | subgroup |
sub-population | subpopulation |
sulphonylurea | sulfonylurea |
super family | superfamily |
survival | survival rate |
T
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
T-cell | T cell |
The Netherlands | the Netherlands (except at beginning of sentence) |
T-helper | T helper |
thin layer chromatography | thin-layer chromatography (or TLC) |
time-course | time course |
TNFα | TNF-α |
transaminase | aminotransferase |
triglyceride | triacylglycerol (except adipose triglyceride lipase [ATGL]) |
tritiated | 3H-labelled or similar (e.g. 3H2O) |
tumoural | tumoral |
type 1 diabetes in the mouse | mouse model of type 1 diabetes |
type I diabetes | type 1 diabetes |
type II diabetes | type 2 diabetes |
U
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
under-estimate | underestimate |
underrecord | under-record |
underrepresent | under-represent |
United Kingdom | UK |
up-regulate | upregulate |
US | OK if adjectival, otherwise USA |
V
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
variable number of tandem repeats polymorphism | variable-number-of-tandem-repeats polymorphism |
versus | vs |
vitamin B12 | vitamin B12 |
vitamin D3 | vitamin D3 |
vitreous (as a noun) | vitreous body or vitreous humour (ask author if this can be changed) |
W
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
web site | website |
Western blot | western blot (for protein) |
western Europe | Western Europe (upper case W) |
wildtype | wild-type |
Wmax | Wmax |
World Health Organization | WHO (standard abbreviation; -iz spelling in references) |
Z
Non-preferred spelling / usage | Preferred spelling / usage |
z score | z score |
Z test | Z test |