Jargon includes words and phrases that can be understood in conversation but are vague, confusing, or depersonalizing are generally inappropriate in formal scientific writing. 

JARGON	PREFERRED FORM
4+ albuminuria	proteinuria (4+)
blood sugarcardiac diet	blood glucosediet for a patient with cardiac disease
chart	medical record
chief complaint	chief concern
congenital heart	congenital heart disease; congenital cardiac anomaly
emergency room	emergency department
exam	examination
gastrointestinal infection	gastrointestinal tract infection or infection of the gastrointestinal tract
genitourinary infection	genitourinary tract infection or infection of the genitourinary tract
heart attack	myocardial infarction
hyperglycemia of 250 mg/dL	hyperglycemia (blood glucose level of 250 mg/dL)
jugular ligation	jugular vein litigation or litigation of
lab	laboratory
labs	laboratory test results
left heart failure	left ventricular failure (preferred, but query author); left-sided heart failure
normal range	reference range
pap smear	papanicolaou test
the patient failed treatment	treatment failure
preemie	premature infant
prepped	prepared
psychiatric floor	psychiatric department, service, unit, ward
respiratory infection	respiratory tract infection or infection of the respiratory tract
status post	after; following
surgeries	operations or surgical procedures
symptomatology	symptoms (query author)
therapy of (a disease of condition)	therapy for
treatment for (a disease or condition)	treatment of
urinary infection	urinary tract infection or infection of the urinary tract

The following terms and euphemisms should be changed to preferred forms:

AVOID	USE
Expired, passed away, succumbed sacrificed	died killed; humanely killed (query author)

Avoid trivializing or dehumanizing disciplines or specialties. For example:

• Osteopathic physician and osteopathic medicine, not osteopath and osteopathy
• Cardiologic consultant or cardiology consultation, not cardiology (for the person)
• Orthopedic surgeon, not orthopod

Colloquialisms, idioms, and vulgarisms should be avoided in formal scientific writing. Exceptions may be made in editorials, informal articles, etc.

When the administration of drugs is described, intra-articular, intracardiac, intramuscular, intrathecal, intravenous, intravitreal, oral, parenteral, rectal, subconjunctival, subcutaneous, sublingual, topical, and transdermal are acceptable terms wen these are the usual or intended routes of administration. Except for systemic chemotherapy, however, drugs are usually neither systemic nor local but are given for systemic or local focus.

• Some topical corticosteroid ointments produce systemic effects.
• Oral penicillin is often preferred to parenteral penicillin.
• Intravenously injected heroin may be contaminated.

Exceptions: Local anesthetics are a class of drugs. Techniques for delivering anesthesia are general, local, and regional. Certain drugs may be inhaled.