In medical terms, what does the abbreviation 's' stand for?

In medical terminology, the abbreviation 's' commonly stands for the Latin term "sine," which translates to "without" in English. This usage is important in clinical settings, particularly when documenting patient conditions or instructions. For instance, a healthcare provider might use this abbreviation to indicate that a patient has an aspect of their care or condition that occurs without a particular feature or element.

The other options do not correspond to the abbreviation 's.' For instance, 'subcutaneous' is often abbreviated as 'subQ,' 'every' might be represented by 'q' (as in q.d. for every day), and 'fracture' does not have a standard abbreviation that is represented simply as 's.' Hence, recognizing 's' specifically as "without" is critical for accurate documentation and communication in medical practice.