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In the metric system, a microgram or microgramme is a Physical unit of mass equal to one millionth () of a gram. Two different abbreviations are commonly used. The International System of Units (SI) uses μg, where the Metric prefix "micro-" is represented by the Greek letter μ (mu). However, mcg is preferred for medical information in the United States (US) and United Kingdom. A third abbreviation, the Greek letter γ (gamma), is no longer recommended. NIST Handbook 133 - 2018, Appendix E. General Tables of Units of Measurement, page 159 (17)
The US Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommend that mcg should be used, rather than μg, when communicating medical information. This is due to the risk that micro- might be misread as milli-, for "milli-", which is equal to one thousandth (). Such a misreading could result in a thousandfold Drug overdose of a drug or medicine. However, mcg is also the symbol for the obsolete unit millicentigram, derived from the CGS and equal to10 μg.
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