Abbreviations, Initialisms and Acronyms
Abbreviations, Initialisms and Acronyms
The use of conventional abbreviations is not free, but is limited to certain contexts and subject to certain rules. Some of them are:
- Do not invent abbreviations; only common and mastery abbreviations of the entire scientific community should be used.
- Write the full term the first time you use it and follow it with the abbreviation in parentheses.
- They will not be included in the title or summary.
- Do not begin prayers with abbreviations.
- They're carrying an end point. Examples: Rev. inf. cient.; p.; etc.
- The accented words maintain their accent on the corresponding syllable when forming the abbreviation. Examples: Maximum-Max.; Number-No.
An initialism is formed by the set of initial letters of a complex expression. The first time an initialism appears, it is put in parentheses, preceded by the full name of the words it groups. The acronyms are written without point between letters or at the end of them and it is not allowed to space the letters that form it or split or divide; they lack plural (TIC no ICTs, ICU not ICUs).
The acronyms can be formed by combining two or more words, examples: Infomed of Medical Informatics; Minsap of Ministry of Public Health.
They are also called acronyms, written in capital letters, which are pronounced as a word: UNICEF, COPD, AIDS. The latter are written in lowercase letter and can be incorporated into the language as words of the common lexicon: UNICEF, epoc, AIDS. They meet the same indications of the acronyms.
