LT

HCPCS Level II modifier that may be used with CPT or HCPCS Level II codes indicating procedures performed on the left side of the body.

LVN

Abbreviation that means licensed vocational nurse/licensed visiting nurse. See licensed practical nurse (LPN) .

Lysis

1. Breakdown, decomposition, destruction, or dissolution of a cell or molecule through the action of a specific agent such as lysin. 2. Slow and steady lessening of the symptoms of a disease.

M codes

Tissue-type codes for morphology of neoplasms that appear in the ICD-9-CM system. These codes are used to gather statistical data on the occurrences of specific tumors in the general population.

M+C

Abbreviation for Medicare+Choice. See Medicare Plus (+) Choice (M+C) program, Medicare Plus (+) Choice (M+C) plan , and Medicare Part C.

Main term

1. When coding a diagnostic statement, identifies the condition, disease, or injury word(s) to look up in the alphabetical index of the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code book. 2. Alphabetical major headings printed in boldface that appear in the “Index,” which is the last section of the annually published Current Procedural Terminology code book. These main terms relate to procedures, services, organs, other anatomical sites, conditions, synonyms, eponyms, and abbreviations.