Dictionary

Pharmacology

Drugs, drug classes and the words used to give medications safely.

efficacyThe ability of a drug or treatment to produce the effect it is meant to have.

enoxaparinA low-molecular-weight heparin, injected under the skin, that prevents and treats blood clots.

enteralBy way of the digestive tract, such as by mouth or through a feeding tube into the stomach or intestine.

entericRelating to the intestines.

ephedrineA drug, given by IV injection, that raises blood pressure and heart rate.

epidural anesthesiaPain relief or numbness from an anesthetic drug given through a thin catheter into the space just outside the covering of the spinal cord.

epinephrineA hormone and drug, also called adrenaline, that raises heart rate and blood pressure and opens the airways.

epoetin alfaA man-made form of erythropoietin, the kidney hormone that tells the bone marrow to make red blood cells.

ergocalciferolVitamin D2: a form of vitamin D taken by mouth to treat or prevent vitamin D deficiency.

ergotamineAn ergot drug that narrows blood vessels, taken at the start of a migraine or cluster headache to stop it.

erythromycinA macrolide antibiotic, also given to newborns as an eye ointment to prevent eye infection.

erythropoietinA hormone made mainly by the kidneys that tells the bone marrow to make red blood cells.

escitalopramAn SSRI antidepressant used for depression and generalized anxiety disorder.

esomeprazoleA proton pump inhibitor: a drug that sharply lowers the amount of acid the stomach makes.

estrogenA female sex hormone, made mainly by the ovaries, and the group of drugs that act like it.

ethambutolAn oral antitubercular drug used with other drugs to treat tuberculosis.

etonogestrelA progestin hormone used in a birth control implant placed under the skin of the upper arm.

every 2 hoursAt two-hour intervals, around the clock unless the order says otherwise; written q2h.

every hourA timing direction meaning once in each 60 minutes, abbreviated "qh" from the Latin quaque hora.

excreteTo get rid of waste from the body, in urine, stool, sweat or breath.

excretionThe removal of wastes, or of a drug and its breakdown products, from the body.

expiration dateThe date after which a drug, supply or product should no longer be used.

extravasationThe leaking of an IV drug that damages tissue (a vesicant) out of the vein into the surrounding tissue.