What does this symbol on medical packaging mean?
Find it by its shape. 1. Pick what you see on the box, pouch or label. 2. Match the drawing. Each of the 38 symbols here has its own page with the standard’s wording, quoted from at least two publishers’ public documents.
Whether a device is right for you is a question for your pharmacist, nurse or doctor.
Tap a shape — the symbols that use it appear here.
A factory — 2 symbols
An hourglass — 1 symbol
Letters — 9 symbols
The word STERILE — 7 symbols
A crossed-out circle — 4 symbols
Limit lines — 3 symbols
Umbrella, sun or glass — 3 symbols
A triangle — 5 symbols
Warnings — 3 symbols
Arrows — 5 symbols
MR — 3 symbols
A book — 1 symbol
Reading a medical label: the four marks people ask about
- Hourglass + date is the use-by date. A date like 2027-08 runs to the end of that month. The outline factory with a date is the date of manufacture — not a deadline.
- LOT is the batch code a recall notice refers to; REF is the product code for reordering; SN is the serial number of one individual device.
- A crossed-out 2 means do not re-use: one use only. Several uses on the same person is a different mark, single patient – multiple use.
- STERILE with EO, R, A or a thermometer names the sterilisation method; a crossed-out torn box means the pack must be intact for that to hold.
Where these come from. ISO 15223-1:2021 “Medical devices — Symbols to be used with information to be supplied by the manufacturer — Part 1: General requirements” is a paid standard, so this page does not reproduce it. Each meaning is quoted as the cited public documents — manufacturers’ symbol glossaries, MedTech Europe’s guidance and US FDA and eCFR texts — reproduce it. The three MR marks come from ASTM F2503, which FDA’s MR labelling guidance follows, and “Rx only” from the US regulation 21 CFR 801.109.
What this page cannot do
- It cannot identify a product from its symbols or tell you who makes a device you found loose.
- It cannot decode what a lot number means for a given maker. Batch and serial codes are each maker’s own; only the maker can say what a code stands for or whether it is in a recall.
- It cannot say whether a device is safe or suitable for you, or whether an expired or damaged one is still usable. It reports what a symbol means under its standard, nothing more.
Left out, and why
- Country of manufacture (outline factory with a country code) (ISO 15223-1:2021, 5.1.11): only one of the public glossaries we fetched (NE Scientific) prints its wording; it stays out until a second publisher’s document confirms it.
- Control, negative control, positive control (CONTROL boxes) (ISO 15223-1:2021, 5.5.2 to 5.5.4): only NE Scientific’s glossary among our sources reproduces them.
- Sterile barrier system marks (single, double, with protective packaging) (ISO 15223-1:2021, 5.2.11 to 5.2.14): sourced, but they mark the packaging layers for hospital staff rather than anything a person at home acts on; not drawn in this round.
- “Contains …” marks for blood derivatives, medicinal substances, biological material, hazardous substances and nano materials (ISO 15223-1:2021, 5.4.6 to 5.4.11): not drawn in this round.
- Infusion and patient-card marks (fluid path, non-pyrogenic, drops per mL, patient name, health care centre, date) (ISO 15223-1:2021, 5.6 and 5.7.1 to 5.7.6): not drawn in this round.
Two drawings semiatic already explains keep their one page: the Consult instructions for use (ISO 15223-1:2021, 5.4.3) and the Temperature limit (ISO 15223-1:2021, 5.3.7 (with 5.3.5 and 5.3.6)) — each has an “On medical-device packaging” section there.
Sources
Every document below is public and was fetched and checked on the date shown: manufacturers’ symbol glossaries, MedTech Europe’s guidance, and US FDA and eCFR texts. Each symbol page lists what its sources show.
- Boston Scientific: Symbols Glossary Checked 2026-09-25.
- NE Scientific: Master Symbol Glossary (CTF-100011 Rev 01) Checked 2026-09-25.
- BÜHLMANN Laboratories: Symbol glossary, version 03 (release date 2025-02-04) Checked 2026-09-25.
- MedTech Europe: Use of Symbols to Indicate Compliance with the MDR, version 3.0 (November 2021) Checked 2026-09-25.
- Stago: Glossary of symbols (520233-A_EN) Checked 2026-09-25.
- Cook Medical: Glossary of standard symbols Checked 2026-09-25.
- Integra LifeSciences: Symbols Glossary (1410819-2 Rev B) Checked 2026-09-25.
- SafeSource Direct: Medical Device Symbols Glossary Checked 2026-09-25.
- US Food and Drug Administration: Testing and Labeling Medical Devices for Safety in the Magnetic Resonance (MR) Environment — guidance issued 10 October 2023 Checked 2026-09-25.
- eCFR (US Office of the Federal Register): 21 CFR 801.109 — Prescription devices Checked 2026-09-25.