Level 1 Nursing Medical Terminology Practice Test 2026 – Your All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

The main idea is that c/o is a medical shorthand for “complains of.” It’s used in patient notes to show the symptoms the patient reports, not necessarily something the clinician directly observed. So when you see c/o chest pain or c/o nausea, it means the patient is stating they are experiencing those symptoms. This is why “Complains Of” is the best match—the other expansions aren’t a standard or correct meaning in clinical documentation (Chief Of, Circulation/Occlusion, or Compliment Of). Remember, c/o flags the patient’s own reported complaint, while objective signs would be notes about what the clinician observes.