The main types and models of the creation of English pharmaceutical terms-abbreviations

Drokin Sergey Mikhailovich PhD in Pedagogy Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Bioethics, Pyatigorsk Medical and Pharmaceutical Institute – Branch of Volgograd State Medical University 357500, Russia, Pyatigorsk, Bernardazzi Brothers str., 2 razduevav@pgu.ru

The article will consider the structural classification of English-language terminological units of the pharmaceutical field based on the existing structural models of terminoderivation in the language.

In Russian and foreign linguistics, there is a significant number of works devoted to both general issues of terminology studies and the study of private sector terminological systems, identifying ways and prospects for their development, linguistic characteristics and patterns of functioning of individual terminological units. Such units also include abbreviated terms and abbreviated terms, i.e. terms presented in the form of lexical units that are equivalent to the word in structure, formed by shortening the original words or phrases and read by the alphabetical name of the initial letters or by the initial sounds of the words included in them. ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]}. According to A.V. Superanskaya, abbreviation is "a way of word formation that unites all types of compound and abbreviated formations" ^{[11, pp. 219-222]}, therefore, the phenomenon of abbreviation includes both initial abbreviations and various kinds of abbreviations and truncations.

The process of abbreviation of terminological units is due to the desire of the term for brevity, the need to save language resources within the framework of scientific and professional communication of specialists. The most widely used terms-abbreviations are found in scientific and technical branch texts. Within the framework of the article, we will analyze the terms-abbreviations of the pharmaceutical sphere, identify the main models for creating such terms, and also consider their structural types.

The scientific and technical term is intended to denote a certain scientific and technical concept, i.e. it performs a nominative function (primary nomination). The process of abbreviation of terminological units, in turn, is the process of creating secondary nomination units, which consists in truncating the components of the original one– or multicomponent term and leads to the emergence of its abbreviated version, usually synonymous in meaning. For example, the abbreviated form of the term Product License will be the initial abbreviation PL, and the term Direct-Acting Antiviral (direct-acting antiviral drug (PPD), direct-acting antiviral drug (APPD)) as a result , the abbreviation turns into DAA ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]}.

In modern English, the terms-abbreviations have become quite widespread. Thanks to the development of various scientific and professional fields of activity, abbreviations and abbreviations have become an integral part of the vocabulary of such areas of human activity as economics, law, culture, politics, military affairs, medicine, linguistics, etc.

In this case, the pharmaceutical terminology system is no exception. Currently, the pharmaceutical industry is one of the most dynamically developing branches of the modern economy, it is constantly updated with new concepts, which are represented by appropriate terminological units. Within the pharmaceutical industry, there is a significant number of single-component terminological units, but multicomponent ones prevail. Naturally, such terms need to be abbreviated in the first place. Therefore, the process of abbreviation comes into force as one of the most popular ways of term formation. As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that at least 40% of pharmaceutical terminological names are accompanied by an abbreviation. In this regard, the study of abbreviations of this special field is an important task for linguists.

A sample of similar terms with a total volume of more than 300 units, selected by a continuous sampling method from paper and electronic dictionaries and glossaries, scientific articles, monographs and other scientific works on the subject under consideration, served as the material for the study of the structural features of pharmaceutical abbreviations. The research methodology is complex and includes the above-mentioned method of continuous sampling of pharmaceutical terms, the method of component analysis, the method of definitional analysis, the method of reconstruction of structural and word-formation models (models of terminoderivation) in English, the method of etymological analysis, methods of quantitative analysis.

Having studied the existing classifications of abbreviations ^{[4, 17, 18, 19, 20]}, we propose to use the structural classification of abbreviations as the most relevant for the consideration of the pharmaceutical terminology system. We examined abbreviations according to several characteristics (quantitative, morphological, derivational, frequency of use, etc.) and identified the main structural types of terms-abbreviations in pharmaceuticals. First of all, the number of components (term elements) that make up the abbreviated terminological units (from one to seven components) was determined, and the terms were ranked according to this criterion. Then the analyzed pharmaceutical terms were grouped by types of their structure and models of education. In the end, calculations were made about the frequency of certain abbreviated terms in terms of the number of components, structural types and models of term formation.

In terms of the number of components (term elements), the pharmaceutical term system is characterized by the presence of single and multicomponent terms, and the latter may contain from one to seven term elements. Three- (128 units or 41.8% of the terminological sample), two- (106 units or 34.6% of the sample) and four-component (46 units or 15% of the sample) abbreviated units prevail compared to one- (10 units, 3.3% of the sample), five- (7 units or 2.3% of the sample), six-(7 units or 2.3% of the sample) and seven-component (2 units or 0.7% of the terminological sample) structures. This is due to the fact that two-, three- and four-component units are the most convenient and less cumbersome to use. The distribution of pharmaceutical terms-abbreviations by the number of components is clearly shown in the diagram (see Diagram 1). During the analysis, we took into account only those components that have a real reflection in the abbreviated term.

Diagram 1. Percentage distribution of pharmaceutical abbreviations by the number of components (term elements)

Structurally (morphologically), abbreviations are traditionally divided into the following structural types ^{[18, p. 120; 19]}: alphabetic (mainly initial), syllabic, truncated words (truncations), partial abbreviations, digital abbreviations, mixed abbreviations.

Let's consider each of the above structural types in relation to our pharmaceutical terminology system and post appropriate derivational models. The first type – alphabetic abbreviations – make up the bulk of pharmaceutical terminological abbreviations (a total of 269 units or 88.2% of the sample), can be written in lowercase or uppercase letters, with or without dots, and are mostly pronounced according to the alphabetical name of the first letters, most of the alphabetic abbreviations are initial. Here are some examples: AOA (AntiOxidant Activity) – antioxidant activity; INR (International Normalized Ratio) – international Normalization Index (INR), International Normalized Ratio (INR); LPS (Label Precautionary Statement) – precautions according to standard information about the drug; PR (pain reliever) – analgesic pill, analgesic, analgesic; UFC (Under Fasting Conditions) – on an empty stomach ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]} and others .

However, letter abbreviations can also be pronounced as a full-fledged word, which makes them not just letter/initial abbreviations, but acronyms (45 abbreviated units). A quantitative analysis of a sample of term units showed that the number of acronyms in pharmaceuticals is significantly less than the number of ordinary initial abbreviations. Here are some examples: AND (Analytical Normative Documentation) – analytical normative documentation; LADMER (Liberation, Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Elimination, Response) – assessment of the bioavailability of drugs (Release, Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, Response); MACE (Major Adverse Cardiac Events) – significant cardiac-vascular complication, severe undesirable cardiovascular event (TNSC); NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) – National Institute of Health and Medical Care Improvement, National Institute of Health and Quality Improvement of Medical Care; OCABR (Official Control Authority Batch Release) – Official Office for the Control of Serial Production of Medicines; OPAT (Out-Patient Antibiotic Treatment) – outpatient antibiotic treatment; VEG (Vaccine Expert Group) – expert group on vaccines ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]} and others .

Letter abbreviations are mainly created by combining the first letters of the words that make up the terminological phrase, while not all components (term elements) of a full-structured term can be reflected in the abbreviation and not only the first letter (the case of the actual initial abbreviations) of the term element can participate in the creation of letter abbreviations. In addition, graphically, letter abbreviations of a terminological nature in pharmaceuticals can be divided into point (for example, M.D. (Medical Doctor) – Doctor of Medicine; M.D. (Metered Dose) – metered; M.P. (Melting Point) – melting point, etc.) and oblique (for example, D/R (Delayed-release (preparations)) – delayed release medications; M/R (Modified-release (preparations)) – drugs of delayed / delayed assimilation; P/R (Prolonged-release (preparations)) – prolonged / delayed release medications, etc.) ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]}.

Let's take a closer look at examples highlighting specific structural models of pharmaceutical terms-abbreviations. Let's start with one-component terms-abbreviations (3 units in total), which are truncated to one letter: E (Enema) – rubber enema, douching, gastric lavage solution; P (Pharmacy (medicine)) – pharmacy drug; U (Units) – units (of the drug) ^{[13, 14, 15, 16]} and others .

Within the framework of two-component terms (98 units in total), truncation to initial letters also occurs more often, however, the full-structured term itself, which is subject to reduction, can be formed according to various derivational models, in particular, morphological (11 units):

Prefix-+Adj. (8 units): IA (Intra-Articular) – intraarticular, intraarticular; ID (IntraDermal) – intradermal, intradermal, (sub)cutaneous; IM (IntraMuscular (injection)) – intramuscular injection; IV (Intravenous (injection / infusion)) – intravenous infusion, intravenous injection; S/L (Sub-lingual) – sublingual, hyoid; SC (Sub-cutaneous (injection)) – subcutaneous injection; UF (UltraFiltrable) – ultrafiltered; US (Ultrasound) – ultrasonic;

Prefix-+N(2 units):AB (AntiBiotics) – antibiotics; CI (Contra-Indication) – contraindication;

Prefix-+Ved(1 unit):UC (UltraCentrifuged) – ultracentrifuged ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]}.

In addition to morphological term formation, some of the two-component units are formed as a result of morphological and syntactic term formation – word composition (14 units). We will identify specific derivational models:

N+N=N-N/NN (4 units): BB (Beta-Blocker) – beta-blocker, beta-blocker; MA (Meta-Analysis) – meta-analysis; OA (OsteoArthritis) – osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis, degenerative osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis; SU (sulfonylurea) – sulfonylurea, derivative sulfonylureas;

Ved+N=Ved-N (3 units): D/R (Delayed-release (preparations)) – delayed release medications; M/R (Modified-release (preparations)) – drugs of delayed assimilation, drugs of delayed assimilation; P/R (Prolonged-release (preparations)) – prolonged-release medications, delayed-release medications;

N+Adj.=N-Adj. (2 units): GF (Gluten-Free) – gluten-free, gluten-free; SF (Sugar-Free) – sugar-free, sugar-free;

Adj.+N=Adj.N (2 units): BA (BioAccessibility) – bioavailability; IG (ImmunoGlobulin) – immunoglobulin, immune globulin;

Adj.+Adj.=Adj.-Adj./Adj.Adj. (2 units): GI (Gastro-Intestinal) – gastrointestinal; NG (NasoGastric) – nasogastric;

N+Ved=N-Ved(1 unit): FC (Film-Coated) – Film-coated, film-coated ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]}.

Some terms are formed as a result of the application of morphological and syntactic models in a complex (11 units), for example:

Prefix-+Adj.+N (9 units): AED (AntiEpileptic Drug) – antiepileptic agent; AMR (AntiMicrobial Resistance) – antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial resistance; A MS (AntiMicrobial Stewardship) – strategy of using antibiotics or antimicrobials, management of antibiotic therapy, strategy of antimicrobial therapy control; AOA (AntiOxidant Activity) – antioxidant activity; IOP (Intra-OcularPressure) – intraocular pressure; IUD (IntraUterine device) – intrauterine contraceptive, intrauterine device, intrauterine device, intrauterine device; IUS (IntraUterine system) – Intrauterine system; TDP (TransDermal Patches) – transdermal patch; UCM (UltraCentrifugal Mill) – ultracentrifuge mill;

Prefix-+Ved+N (2 units): UCT (UnCoated Tablet) – uncoated tablet, uncoated tablet; ULM (Unlicensed medicine) – unlicensed medicines ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]}.

As we can see, in the pharmaceutical field, frequency prefixes within morphological and combined models include: anti-, contra-, intra-, sub-, trans-, ultra-, un-, etc. Frequency morphological and syntactic models of pharmaceutical terms-abbreviations include combinations of nouns, adjectives and nouns, adjectives among themselves (in the formation of term elements), participles and nouns: N+N; Adj.+N; Adj.+Adj.; Ved+N, etc.

Two-component pharmaceutical terms-abbreviations are most frequently formed according to various syntactic models (62 units):

Adj.+N (33 units): AF (Atrial Fibrillation) – atrial fibrillation, atrial fibrillation, atrial fibrillation; AG (Antibiotic Guardian) – UK Ministry of Health company to reduce the use of antibiotics; BP (British Pharmacopoeia) – British Pharmacopoeia; BT (Buccal Tablet) – tablet for slow dissolution in buccal buccal tablet; CF (Cystic Fibrosis) – cystic fibrosis, fibrocystic degeneration, cystic fibrosis; DM (Dispersible Medicine) – dispersible drug; ED (Erectile Dysfunction) – erectile dysfunction, impotence, erectile dysfunction; EI (Epidural Injection) – epidural injection, administration of drugs into the spinal canal; EP (European Pharmacopoeia) – European Pharmacopoeia; GA (General Anaesthetic) – general anesthetic, general anesthetic, general anesthetic; GP (General Practitioner) – General Practitioner; IA (Ibandronic Acid) – Ibandronic Acid; IP (Indian Pharmacopoeia) – Indian Pharmacopoeia; IU (International Units) – International Units (drug); JP (Japanese Pharmacopoeia) – Japanese Pharmacopoeia; KP (Korean Pharmacopoeia) – Korean Pharmacopoeia; LA (LocalAnaesthetic) – local anesthetic, local anesthesia; M.D. (Medical Doctor) – Doctor of Medicine; MA (Macrolide Antibiotic) – macrolide antibiotic; MA (Magnetic Antibody) – magnetic antibody; MD (Medical Device) – medical device; ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) – myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome; MH (Mental Health) – mental health, mental state, psyche; MI (Myocardial Infarction) – myocardial infarction (MI); MS (Multiple Sclerosis) – Charcot-Vulpian disease, multiple sclerosis, multiple sclerosis; OD (Optical Density) – optical density; PA (Psoriatic Arthritis) – psoriatic arthritis; PE (Pulmonary Embolism) – pulmonary embolism, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary embolism; RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) – rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic polyarthritis, articular rheumatism; ST (Sublingual Tablet) – sublingual tablet, sublingual tablet; TB (Tubercule Bacillus) – tuberculosis, tubercle; TM (Topical Medicine) – ointment base; UC (Ulcerative Colitis) – nonspecific ulcerative colitis, ulcerative colitis, ulcerative colitis;

N+N (13 units): AD (Alzheimer's disease) – senile brain sclerosis, Alzheimer's syndrome, Alzheimer's disease (Nprop+N); PD (Parkinson's disease) – Parkinsonism, Parkinson's disease, tremulous paralysis (Nprop+N); BC (Birth Control) – birth control; BP (BloodPressure) – blood pressure, blood pressure; DH (Department of Health) – Ministry of Health (with the abbreviation, the preposition is omitted); DI (Drug Interaction) – (inter)drug interaction, drug interaction; GH (Growth Hormone) – growth hormone, somatotropic hormone (STH); MO (Medicines Optimisation) – optimization of obtaining medicines; PK (Pain Killer) – analgesic pill, analgesic, analgesic; PL (Product License) – product license; PR (Pain Reliever) – analgesic pill, analgesic, analgesic; QA (Quality assurance) – quality assurance department in pharmaceutical production; SD (Spacer Device) – spacer device;

Ved+N (6 units): CD (Controlled Drug) – narcotic drug, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, a drug subject to quantitative accounting, a drug of strict accounting; CS (Compressed Suppository) – a compressed suppository; CT (Coated Tablet) – a coated tablet; CT (Compressed Tablet) – pressed tablet; M.D. (Metered Dose) – metered; PW (Purified Water) – purified water;

Ving+N (3 units): AS (Ankylosing Spondylitis) – Bekhterev-Strumpell-Marie disease, ankylosing spondylitis; LD (Learning Difficulties) – developmental delay; m.p. (Melting Point) – melting point; MA (Marketing Authorization) – permits for commercial sale of products;

ProN+N (2 units): o.m. (omni mane) – once in the morning, in the morning; q.h. (quaque hora) – every hour;

Prep.+N (2 units): PO / p.o. (per os, peroral) – p/o, orally; PR (Per Rectum) – rectally, through the rectum;

N+Adj. (1 unit): DM (Diabetes Mellitus) – diabetes mellitus;

Adj.+Ved (1 unit): EC (Enteric Coated) – enteric coating;

Prep.+Adj. (1 unit): PO (Post Operational) – after the operation ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]} and others .

As a result, it was revealed that the following are the frequency syntactic models: Adj.+N; N+N; Ved+N.

In terms of three-component letter abbreviations of the pharmaceutical sphere (143 units in total), the predominant model of terminoderivation is syntactic (100 units), or a combination of morphological, morphological-syntactic and syntactic models (43 units). Consider the first group of models (purely syntactic models of terminoderivation):

N+N+N (23 units): ARB (AngiotensinReceptor Blocker) – angiotensin receptor blocker; BCP (Birth Control Pills) – oral contraceptives; birth control pills; BMI (BodyMassIndex) – body mass index (BMI); ENT (Eyes, Nose, Throat) – ENT, oto (reno)Laryngologist; HCP (HealthCare Professional) – healthcare specialist, specialist in medicine; HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) – Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV); LFT (Liver Function Test) – liver test, liver Function Test, liver Function test, functional liver test; LIR (Laboratory Investigation Report) – laboratory Research report, Report on the investigation of the causes of deviations; MMR (Measures, Mumps and Rubella (vaccine)) – vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella viruses; MMT (Medicines ManagementTeam) – healthcare management team; HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) – hormone replacement therapy, hormone replacement therapy; OME (Otitis Media with Effusion) – purulent otitis media, exudative otitis media, otitis media with effusion; PIL (Patient Information Leaflet) – leaflet in the package of the drug (information sheet for the patient); PIS (Patient Information Sheet) – leaflet in the package of the drug (information sheet for the patient); VEG (Vaccine Expert Group) – expert group on vaccines; VMP (Validation Master Plan) – validation plan, validation master plan; QMA (Quality Management Associate) – qualified medical professional; SPC (Summary of Product Characteristics) – instructions for the use of the drug, general characteristics of the drug (OHLP); SPC (Summary of Product Characteristics) – a brief description of the drug; STA (Safety and Toxicity Analysis) – indicators of safety and toxic elements; TLS (Traffic light system) – "traffic light" system for grouping medicines depending on which organization can prescribe them; UDU (Uniformity of Dosage Units) – uniformity of dosing units; VFD (vacuum freeze dryer) – vacuum freeze dryer, vacuum freeze dryer;

Adj.+N+N (20 units): ADR (Inverse Drug Reaction) – undesirable drug reaction (NLR), adverse side reaction to the drug; AKI (Acute Kidney Injury) – acute kidney injury, acute renal failure; CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) – chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome fatigue; CHD (Coronary Heart Disease) – cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, coronary heart disease, coronary heart failure; CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) – chronic kidney disease; DPI (Dry Powder Inhaler) – powder inhaler, dry powder inhaler; DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) – deep Vein thrombosis (DVT); EMA (European Medicines Authority) – European Medicines Agency; GAD (Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase) – Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase (DHA); GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) – good laboratory practice; GSL (General Sales List) – list of drugs allowed for free sale; IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease) – inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD); IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) – Irritable Bowel syndrome; ISO (International Organization for Standardization) – International Organization for Standardization, ISO; LCC (Liquid Column Chromatography) – liquid column chromatography; NBS (Nutritional Borderline Substances) – nutrient boundary substances; WBC (white blood cells) – white blood cells; RBC (Red Blood Cells) – red blood cells, red blood cells; TBT (Tubercule Bacillus Treatment) – tuberculosis therapy; UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) – urinary tract infection, urinary tract infection, urinary tract infection;

Adj.+Adj.+N (10 units): EFA (Essential Fatty Acid) – an essential fatty acid; GCP (Good Clinical Practice) – good clinical practice; GHP (German Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia) – German homeopathic Pharmacopoeia; HMG (Human Menopausal Gonadotropin) – human menopausal gonadotropin, human menopausal gonadotropin; MPE (Main Pharmacological Effect) – the main pharmacological action; NCE (New Chemical Entity) – a new chemical substance; PEG (PercutaneousEndoscopic Gastrostomy) – percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (CEG), percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy; PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease) – pelvic organ inflammation, pelvic organ inflammation; TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) – micro stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA); TTS (Transdermal Therapeutic System) – patch, transdermal therapeutic system in the form of a patch, transdermal medicinal films;

Adj.+Adj.+N (7 units): ACS (Acute Coronary Syndrome) – acute coronary syndrome; AND (Analytical Normative Documentation) – analytical regulatory documentation; API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) – active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), pharmaceutical substance, active ingredient; BPC (British PharmaceuticalCodex) – British Pharmaceutical Code, British Pharmaceutical Collection; BRP (Bacterial Respiratory Pathogen) – bacterial respiratory pathogen; CAD (Coronary Artery Disease) – coronary artery disease, coronary artery disease, coronary artery disease (heart), coronary heart disease; CNS (Central Nervous System) – Central nervous System system (CNS);

Ved+N+N (5 units): CDD (Controlled Drug Delivery) – controlled drug delivery, controlled drug delivery; NPP (Named Patient Program) – a program for obtaining a drug before its registration or market entry by specific patients at the request of a doctor, a program for experimental use of the drug on an individual basis; QMA (Qualified MedicineAide) – qualified medical professional; SCG (SharedCare Guideline) – protocol of joint diagnostics and treatment; SCP (SharedCare Protocol) – protocol of joint diagnostics and treatment;

N+Prep.+N (5 units): COA (Certificate Of Analysis) – protocol of analysis (preparation); EoL (End Of Life) – the final stage of the life cycle; QID / qid / q.i.d. (quarter in die) – four times a day; WOM (Word Of Mouth) – oral reviews (about the drug); WFI (Water For Injection) – water for injection;

N+Adj.+N (4 units): AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration) – age-related macular degeneration, age-related macular degeneration, age-related macular degeneration (term element -related omitted in the term abbreviation); BMD (Bone Mineral Density) – bone mineral density, bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral density; LPS (Label Precautionary Statement) – precautions according to standard information about the drug; PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) – prostate-specific antigen (PSA), prostate-specific antigen;

Ved+Adj.+N (3 units): CHC (Combined Hormonal Contraceptive) – combined hormonal contraceptive, combined hormonal contraceptive; COC (Combined Oral Contraceptive) – combined oral contraceptive, combined oral contraceptive (COC); USP (United States Pharmacopeia) – US Pharmacopoeia;

Adj.+Ved+ N (3 units): ECP (Enteric Coated Pill) – dragee or tablet with enteric coating, dragee with enteric coating; INR (International Normalized Ratio) – International Normalization Index (INR), International Normalized Ratio (INR); MCT (Multiple Compressed Tablet) – multistage pressed tablet;

Adj.+N+Adj. (2 units): SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) – systemic Lupus erythematosus, systemic erythematous lupus; ULN (Upper Limit of Normal) – upper limit of normal, upper limit of normal;

N+Ving+N (2 units): SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) – standard operating procedure, technological instruction; VIA (Virus Inactivating Agent) – antivirus tool;

N+Conj.+N (2 units): FAD (Food And Drug (administration)) – Food and Drug Administration; R&D (Research and Development) – department of research and development in pharmaceutical production;

Adv.+Ved+N (2 units): ST D (Sexually Transmitted Disease) – sexually Transmitted diseases (STDs); STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) – sexually transmitted infections (STIs);

Part.+V+Prep. (2 units): TTA (To Take Away) – medications given to the patient upon discharge from the hospital; TTO (To Take Out) – medications given to the patient upon discharge from the hospital;

N+Adj.+N (1 unit): FCT (Film Coated Tablet) – film coated tablet, film coated tablet;

N+N+Ving (1 unit): ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) – enterprise resource planning system;

Adj.+Adj.+Adj. (1 unit): RAG (Red, Amber, Green (traffic light system)) – the "traffic light" system for the classification of medicines and the designation of who can prescribe them;

Adj.+Ving+N (1 unit): CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) – clinical group responsible for the implementation of medical services; group planning and procurement of medical services;

Ved+Ved+N (1 unit): RCT (Randomized Controlled Trial) – Randomized Controlled trial (evidence-based medicine);

Prep.+N+N(1 unit): b.l.q. (below limit of quantification) – below the limit of quantification;

Prep.+Ving+N (1 unit): UFC (Under Fasting Conditions) – on an empty stomach;

Prep.+Art.+N (1 unit): OTC (Over The Counter) – sold without a prescription (about the drug), over-the-counter ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]} and others .

As a result of the analysis of syntactic models of three-component units, it was revealed that the most frequent of them are those that represent a combination of nouns, adjectives and nouns in various combinations: N+N+N; Adj.+N+N; Adj.+Adj.+N; Adj.+Adj.+N et al . In models correlating with fully structured multicomponent terms, which include a preposition or a conjunction, when abbreviated, as a rule, their elimination occurs, which is also observed in terms with a large number of components.

Three-component pharmaceutical terms-abbreviations, as well as two-component ones, can be formed as a result of using a combination of morphological-syntactic and purely syntactic derivational models. Let's look at them in more detail:

Adj.+Adj.+N=Adj.(-)Adj.+N (6 units): CPR (CardioPulmonary Resuscitation) – cardiac arrest resuscitation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation; CVA (CerebroVascularAccident) – stroke; cerebral infarction, cerebral apoplexy, hemorrhagic stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, cerebrovascular accident; CVD (CardioVascular Disease) – cardiovascular disease, disease of the cardiovascular system; CVS (CardioVascular System) – circulatory system, cardiovascular system (CCC); GIT (Gastro-Intestinal Tract) – gastrointestinal tract, digestive tract; GUM (Genito-Urinary Medicine) - medicine of the genitourinary system;

N+Ved+N=N(-)Ved+N (3 units): EBM (Evidence-Based Medicine) – evidence-based medicine, evidence-based medicine, evidence–based medicine; MAE(Microwave–Assisted Extraction) - microwave extraction; SCT (SugarCoated Tablet) - sugar-coated tablet;

N+Adv.+N=N-Adv.+N (2 units): POM (Prescription-Only Medicine) – a drug dispensed only by prescription; POP (Progestogen-Only Pill) – tablets containing exclusively progestin, tablets containing exclusively progestogen;

N+N+N=N(-)N+N (2 units): GLC (Gas-Liquid Chromatography) – gas-liquid chromatography; PPI (Proton-pump inhibitor) – proton pump inhibitor, proton pump inhibitor;

Adj.+Adj.+N=Adj.Adj.N (2 units): HFA (HydroFluoroAlkane) – hydrofluoroalkane (HFA); WSP (Water-Soluble Products) – water-soluble preparations;

Adj.+N+N=Adj.(-)N+N (2 units): NSD (Nano-ScaleDispersion) – nanoscale dispersion; NSD(Nanoscale Drug) – nanoscale drug; TLC (Thin-layer chromatography) – thin-layer chromatography (TLC);

Adj.+Adj.+N=Adj.+Adj.N (1 unit): VTE (Venous ThromboEmbolism) – venous thromboembolism, venous thromboembolism;

Adj.+Ved+N=Adj.-N+N (1 unit): ECT (Enteric-Coated Tablet) – enteric tablet, tablet coated with an intestinal-soluble shell;

Adj.+Ving+N=Adj.-Ving+N (1 unit): DAA (Direct-Acting Antiviral) – direct-acting antiviral drug (PPD), direct-acting antiviral drug (APPD);

N+Adj.+N=NAdj.+N (1 unit): ASA (AcetylSalicylic Acid) – acetylsalicylic Acid;

N+Ving+N=N-Ving+N (1 unit): WST (Water-Sterilizing Tablets) – water disinfection tablets;

Ved+Adj.+N=Ved+Adj.N (1 unit): ICS (Inhaled CorticoSteroid) – inhaled corticosteroid;

Ved+N+N=Ved-N+N (2 units): CRT (Controlled-Release Tablet) – controlled-release tablet; MDI (Metered-Dose Inhaler) – dosing inhaler, Metered aerosol inhaler (DAI) ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]} and others .

Within the framework of combinationally used models of terminoderivation, only one relatively frequent one can be distinguished, which is also a combination of adjectives and noun names: Adj.+Adj.+N=Adj.(-)Adj.+N.

Four-component letter terms-abbreviations (34 units in total) are also represented by various derivational models, mainly syntactic (25 units) or their combination with morphological and morphological-syntactic (9 units). Let 's highlight specific syntactic models:

Adj+N+N+N (8 units): ACBS (Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances) – Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances; CABG (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft) – aorto-coronary Bypass Grafting, Coronary Bypass Grafting; NAAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Tes t) – Nucleic Acid amplification method; NHSE (National Health System of England) – The health care system of the population in the UK, the National Health Service of Great Britain; NICE (National Institute for Health andCare Excellence) – National Institute of Health and Medical Care Improvement, National Institute of Health and Quality Improvement of Medical Care; PSUR (Periodic Safety Update Report) – periodic submission of reports on drug safety research; SSRE (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Enhancer) – selective serotonin Reuptake Enhancer; SSRI (Selective SerotoninReuptake Inhibitor) – selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI);

Adj.+N+Adj.+N (4 units): HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) – High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC); IABS (International Association for Biological Standardization / International Association for Biological Standards) – International Association for Biological Standardization / International Association of Biological Standards; JCBN (Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature) – Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature;

Adj.+Adj.+N+N (3 units): GACP (Good Agricultural and Collection Practice) – good practice of cultivation and collection of medicinal plants, good practice of cultivation and collection of raw materials of plant origin; LMWH (Low Molecular Weight Heparin) – low Molecular Weight heparin (NMH), fractionated heparin; QPCR (Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction) – quantitative polymerase chain reaction (cPCR);

Adj.+Adj.+Adj.+N (2 units): COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic nonspecific lung disease (HCL), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); MACE (Major Adverse Cardiac Events) – significant cardiovascular complication, severe undesirable cardiovascular phenomenon (TNSS);

N+Adj.+Adj.+N (2 units): ABPI (Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries) – Association of British Pharmaceutical Manufacturers; B-CLL (B-cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia) – chronic lymphocytic leukemia of B cells;

N+N+N+N (1 unit): ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) – attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD);

N+N+Adj.+N (1 unit): MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) – The Agency for the regulation of products in the field of medicine and healthcare in the UK;

Ved+Adj.+N+N (1 unit): ANDA (Abbreviated New Drug Application) – abbreviated application for registration of a new drug;

Ved+N+N+N (1 unit): DDPS (Detailed Description of the Pharmacovigilance System) – detailed description of the pharmacovigilance system;

Ved+N+Adj.+N (1 unit): QPPV (Qualified PersonResponsible for Pharmacovigilance) – a qualified employee responsible for pharmacovigilance, a qualified person responsible for pharmacovigilance, a pharmacovigilance commissioner;

N+Ving+N+N (1 unit): TCMO (Tablet Coating Machine Operator) – drazherovschik ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]} and others .

In general, the frequency model of the term formation of abbreviations in pharmaceuticals within the framework of syntactic models is a combination of an adjective and nouns: Adj+N+N+N.

Four-component combined models include, in particular, the following derivational models, which are infrequent (occasional):

Adj.+N+Adj.+N=Adj.N+Adj.N (2 units): ISDN (IsoSorbide DiNitrate) – nitrosorbide, isosorbide dinitrate; ISMN (IsoSorbide MonoNitrate) – isosorbide mononitrate;

N+Adj.+Adj.+N=N-Adj.Adj.+N (1 unit): EACA (Epsilon-AminoCaproic Acid) – (epsilon-)aminocaproic Acid, norleucine;

Adj.+Adj.+N+N=Adj.-Adj.+N+N (1 unit): GORD (Gastro-Oesophageal Reflex Disease) – gastroesophageal disease (GERD);

Adj.+Adj.+Adj.+N=Adj.Adj.Adj.+N (1 unit): HFAI (HydroFluoroAlkane Inhalers) – hydrofluoroalkane inhaler, inhaler with hydrofluoroalkane dose measurement;

Ved+N+N+N=Ved-N+N+N (1 unit): MDPI (Metered-Dose Powder Inhaler) – Metered Powder Inhaler;

Prep.+N+Adj.+N=Prep.-N+Adj.+N (1 unit): OPAT (Out-Patient Antibiotic Treatment) – outpatient antibiotic treatment;

Adj.+Adj.+Adj.+N=Adj.Adj.+Adj.+N (1 unit): PCOS (PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome) – polycystic ovary syndrome, polycystic ovary disease ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]} and others .

Next, we will consider five-, six- and seven-component abbreviated structures and corresponding derivational models:

N+Ving+Prefix-+Adj.+N=N-Ving+Prefix-Adj.+N (1 unit): DMARD (Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug) – a basic anti-rheumatic drug modifying the course of the disease, a basic anti-inflammatory drug;

Adj.+N+N+Adj.+N (1 unit): ICDRA (International Conference of Drug Regulatory Authorities) – International Conference of Authorized Bodies in the Field of Circulation of Medicines;

Part.+Adj.+Prefix-+Adj.+N=Part.-Adj.+Prefix-Adj.+N (1 unit): NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) – nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID);

Adj.+N+N+N+N (1 unit): OCABR (Official Control Authority Batch Release) – The Official Office for the control of Serial Production of Medicines;

Adj.+N+Ving+Prefix-+Adj.+N=Adj.-N-Ving+Prefix-Adj.+N (1 unit): b-DMARD (Biological Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug) – biological modifying disease course basic anti-rheumatic drug, basic biological anti-inflammatory drug;

N+N+N+N+Adj.+N (1 unit): AAALAC (Accreditation Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory AnimalCare) – International Association for Certification and Accreditation of Laboratory Animals;

Adj.+N+N+Adj.+Adj.+N (1 unit): AAALAC (American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care) – American Association for Certification and Accreditation of Laboratory Animals;

Adj.+N+N+N+Adj.+N (1 unit): NICE CG (National Institute for health and Care Excellence clinical guideline) – Protocol for diagnosis and treatment of the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence;

Adj.+N+N+N+N+N (1 unit): NICE TA (National Institute for Health andCare Excellence Technology Appraisal) – assessment of the cost of drugs and equipment of the National Institute of Health and Medical Care Improvement;

Adj.+N+Adj.+N+Adj.+N (1 unit): IACMAC (Interregional Association for Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobial Chemotherapy) – Interregional Association for Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (MACMACH) ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]}.

In some cases, syllabic abbreviations are used in pharmaceuticals, also aimed at following the principle of speech economy, but they are rather isolated (3 units or about 1% of the terminological sample), for example:

BritPharm (Brit ish Pharm acopoeia) – British Pharmacopoeia (Adj.+N);

PhEur (Eur opean Ph armacopoeia) – European Pharmacopoeia (Adj.+N);

sub cut (sub-cutaneous (injection)) –subcutaneous injection (Prefix-+Adj.+N=Prefix-Adj.+N) ^{[13, 14, 15, 16]} and others .

Truncated terms (truncations) – terminological units formed by truncating the basis – are also represented in some quantity in pharmaceuticals (5 units in the sample or 1.6% of the sample). Such abbreviations are indivisible and are formed, in particular, by discarding the final syllables of the basis of a multicomponent term and in many cases are accompanied by a dot in connection with an abbreviation, for example:

Ant. (Ant agonist) – a drug that neutralizes the effect of another drug;

Amp. (Amp oule) – ampoule;

Inf. (Inf usion) – infusion; extract, extract, infusion, tincture;

Inj. (Inj ection) – injection;

Lab. (lab oratory) – laboratory ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]} and others .

Partial abbreviations take place in the field of pharmaceuticals and imply a combination of abbreviations (alphabetic, syllabic, etc.) and full-structured words (only 18 units or 5.9% of the terminological sample), for example:

N+N+N+N (2 units): MMR vaccine (Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine) – vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella viruses; QC release tests (Quality Control release tests) – quality control tests during product release

Prefix-+Adj.+N=Prefix(-)Adj.+N (2 units): IA injection (Intra-Articular injection) – intra-articular injection; ID injection (IntraDermal injection) – subcutaneous injection, intradermal injection;

Adj.+Ving+Adj.+N=Adj.-Ving+Adj.+N (2 units): DAA drug (Direct-Acting Antiviral drug) – direct-acting antiviral drug (PPD), direct-acting antiviral drug (APPD); DAA agent (Direct-Acting Antiviral agent) – direct-acting antiviral drug (PPD), direct-acting antiviral drug (APPD);

Adj.+N+N (1 unit): A/R Number (Analytical Report Number) – test report number;

Adj.+N+N=Adj.N+N (1 unit): BA study (BioAccessibility study) – accessibility study;

Ved+N+N (1 unit): QP-release (Qualified Person release) – approval of the Quality Commissioner;

N+Ving+N+N=N-Ving+N+N (1 unit): ACE inhibitor (Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme inhibitor) – Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor, ACE inhibitor;

N+N+N+N=N-N+N+N (1 unit): DDI evaluation (Drug-Drug Interaction evaluation) – study of drug interaction;

Prep.+Adj.+N+N=Prep.-Adj.+N+N (1 unit): OAB syndrome (Over-Active Blader syndrome) – overactive bladder syndrome, hyperactive bladder syndrome;

Prep.+Art.+N+N (1 unit): OTC drug (Over The Counter drug) – over-the-counter medicine, over-the-counter medicine;

N+N+Ved+Ving+N (1 unit): DROP-list (Drugs to Review for Optimized Prescribing List) – a list of medications for analysis for optimized discharge by a doctor;

Adj.+N+Adj.+N+N (1 unit): HFRS vaccine (Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome vaccine) – a vaccine against hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS);

Adj.+N+N+N+Adj.+N (1 unit): NICE clinical guideline (National Institute for health and Care Excellence clinical guideline) – protocol for diagnosis and treatment of the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence;

Adj.+N+N+N+N+N (1 unit): NICE technology appraisal (National Institute for health and Care Excellence technology appraisal) – assessment of the cost of drugs and equipment of the National Institute of Health and Medical Care Improvement;

N+N+N+N+N+N+N (1 unit): LADMER system (Liberation, Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Elimination, Response system) – LADMER system – (Release, Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, Response) – assessment of bioavailability of drugs ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]}, etc.

Digital abbreviations, in general, are quite rare in many terminology systems, and the pharmacy terminology system we are considering is no exception here, since these terms are represented by only a few units (only 4 terms or 1.3% of the sample), for example:

N+Num.+N+Adj. (2 units): T1DM (Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus) – Type I diabetes mellitus; T2DM (Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus) – type 2 diabetes mellitus;

Num.+Adj.+Adj.+N=Num.-Adj.Adj.+N (1 unit): 5-ASA (5-aminosalicylic acid) – mesalazine, 5-aminosalicylic acid;

Num.+N+Num.+N+N=Num.N-Num.+N+N (1 unit): 4P-5P rule(Product (product), Price (price), Promotion (promotion), Place (price), Personal (people) – staff (people)). Marketing mix rule: the right product, in the right place, at the right time, at the right price, with the right people ^{[12, 13, 14, 15, 16]} et al .

Mixed abbreviations, according to V.V. Borisov's classification ^{[18, pp. 120-128]}, will include (6 units or 2% of the terminological sample):

- abbreviations created as a result of simultaneous application of truncation and initial abbreviation, for example:

BPh (British Ph armacopoeia) – British Pharmacopoeia (Adj.+N);

C. diff (C lostridium diff icile) – Clostridium difficile (N+Adj.);

EMEA (E uropean Me dicines A gency) – European Medicines Agency (Adj.+N+N);

CADREAC (Collaboration Agreement between Drug Regulatory authorities in European union Associated Countries) – Agreement on Cooperation of Drug Control Authorities of the EU Associate Member States (N+N+N+N+Adj.+Ved+N);

- contractures (contractions), which are formed as a result of the omission of the middle part of a word (as a rule, these are vowel letters) and the contraction of its initial and final elements. Such units can be conditionally attributed, for example, the following pharmaceutical terms:

DA (DopAmine) – dopamine;

Hg (HaemoGlobin) – hemoglobin ^{[12, 13, 14]}, etc.

The percentage ratio of structural types of pharmaceutical abbreviations by quantitative feature is shown in the diagram (see Diagram 2).

As a result of the analysis of English-language abbreviations, a significant predominance of letter abbreviations was revealed (88.2% of the terminological sample), most of which are initial abbreviations. Partial abbreviations (5.9%), mixed abbreviations (2%), truncations (1.6%), digital abbreviations (1.3%), syllabic abbreviations (1%) are infrequent.

Thus, we come to the conclusion that the pharmaceutical field in modern English is characterized by the presence of terms-abbreviations containing from one to seven components, while letter abbreviations containing two, three and four term elements predominate. Among the most frequent models of terminoderivation in the pharmaceutical terminosystem, the following were identified: Prefix+Adj.; Prefix+Adj.+N; Adj.+N; N+N; Ved+N; N+N+N; Adj.+N+N; Adj.+ Adj.+N; Ved+N+N; N+Prep.+N; Adj.+Adj.+N=Adj.(-)Adj.+N; Adj.+N+N+N. The prospects of the research include the study of models of the formation of abbreviated terminological units of the pharmaceutical sphere in Russian, Spanish, French and German.