What Is the Medical Abbreviation for Left Eye?

Medical terminology is often derived from Latin, Greek, or other ancient languages. Medical abbreviations frequently come from these ancient roots. Knowledge of these languages is important when considering the etymology of modern medical and pharmacological terms.

Left Eye

• The medical abbreviation for "left eye" is o.s. This stands for "oculus sinister". In Latin, "oculus" means eye, and "sinister" means on the left side.

Ocular

• In medical terminology, ocular refers to anything related to the eye. For example, ocular migraines are those associated with the area around the eye, usually only on one side or the other. An ocular prosthesis is an artificial eye, or any artificial aid to vision, such as eyeglasses or a lens that replaces the natural lens in a cataract patient.

Sinister

• In Latin, "sinister" means on the left hand, unfavorable, wrong, or adverse. This is the origin of the English word "sinister", meaning threatening evil or harm. This is because in ancient augury, omens, especially flights of birds on the left side were considered unlucky. This comes into Latin culture from the Greek practice of facing north when reading omens.

Right Eye

• The medical abbreviation for the right eye is o.d., which stands for "oculus dexter". In Latin, "dexter" means right, fortunate, or favorable. This is the origin of the English word "dexterity", meaning skillful, especially with the hands. In ancient times, anything associated with the right was considered better than that on the left. Omens read on the right were more fortunate. Being right-handed was considered better, more natural.

Heraldry

• In heraldry, sinister indicates anything on the left side of a shield; dexter indicates the right-hand side. For example, a "bend dexter" would be a stripe that runs from the top right to the bottom left of a coat of arms. A "bend sinister" is a stripe that runs from the top left to the bottom right, and often indicated illegitimacy.