R (symbol)

R (symbol): This much-used symbol has many meanings in medicine. They include:

Respiration: a nurse's note of "R20" is shorthand for 20 respirations (breaths) per minute. Right: A doctor's note of a burn on the "R digit 5" places the burn on the right little finger or toe. Roentgen, an international unit of X-radiation or gamma-radiation. In chemistry, a radical. On a prescription, R (or Rx), recipe, which is Latin for "to take".