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Useful Abbreviations

Your guide to abbreviations used throughout the Tocris website

If the item you are looking for is not found on this page, view our pharmacological glossary and peptide nomenclature guide pages for further information.

Routes of drug administration SI prefixes Greek letters (lower case) Unit Sizes

Routes of drug administration

Route Abbreviation Description
Intracerebroventricular i.c.v. Into the ventricles of the brain
Intra-arterial i.a. Into the lumen of an artery
Intracerebral i.c. Into the brain
Intradermal i.d. Into the dermal layer of the skin
Intramuscular i.m. Into a skeletal muscle
Intragastric i.g. Into the stomach
Intraperitoneal i.p. Into the peritoneal cavity
Intrathecal i.t. Into the spinal canal
Intravenous i.v. Into a vein
Oral p.o. By mouth
Subcutaneous s.c. Under the skin
Topical – Onto the surface, such as the skin or the eye
Systemic – In the periphery (not in the CNS)

SI prefixes

Symbol Prefix Factor
T tera 1012
G giga 109
M mega 106
k kilo 103
m milli 10-3
μ micro 10-6
n nano 10-9
p pico 10-12

Greek letters (lower case)

α alpha γ gamma ο omicron σ sigma
β beta ι iota ω omega τ tau
χ chi κ kappa φ phi θ theta
δ delta λ lambda π pi υ upsilon
ε epsilon μ mu ψ psi ξ xi
η eta ν nu ρ rho ζ zeta

Unit Sizes

μg Microgram
mg Milligram
g Gram
kg Kilogram
l Litre
ml Millilitre