An elevation is different. It shows the face of something, or perhaps more correct, the projection of an object/s to a plane. But my testing suggests it produces SECTIONS, not elevations.
Yes, you can use abbreviations in tables and figures. All abbreviations used in tables and figures should be defined in the table note or figure caption, respectively, even though the abbreviations will be also be defined in the text if they are used there.
So we will attempt to shed more light on the distinctions. Abbreviations. According to Dictionary.com, an abbreviation is a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole, as Dr. for Doctor, U.S. for United States, lb. for pound. Initialisms and acronyms are two types of abbreviations that are used to shorten phrases.