Mental health

BPD

borderline personality disorder — or bronchopulmonary dysplasia, or biparietal diameter

Three unrelated meanings share the letters: a personality disorder in mental health, a chronic lung condition of premature infants, and a fetal head measurement on ultrasound. The chart’s setting decides.

Ambiguous by design of the alphabet, not by policy — this abbreviation is not on the official Do Not Use list, but it is the standard example of why context has to be read before a chart abbreviation is trusted.

How it gets tested

Tested as a context item: the same letters on a psychiatric, neonatal, and obstetric chart mean three different things.

Quick check: BPD

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What does BPD stand for?

Related terms

NICUGADDo Not Use list

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