Pharmacology

The printed leaflet packed with a drug that describes what it holds, its uses, actions, dose, warnings and adverse reactions.

A chemotherapy drug, given by IV, that stops cancer cells from dividing.

A second-generation antipsychotic drug, taken as a daily tablet or given as a long-acting injection.

A proton pump inhibitor, taken by mouth or IV, that strongly lowers the amount of acid the stomach makes.

The part of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, slows the heart and helps digestion during rest.

Given by a route other than the digestive tract, usually by injection or into a vein.

An SSRI antidepressant used for depression and several anxiety disorders.

A way of giving pain medicine in which the client presses a button to give themselves a set dose from a programmed pump.

Blood tests of a drug's highest level after a dose (peak) and its lowest level just before the next dose (trough).

The time after a dose when a drug's effect is strongest.

An abbreviation that can mean a feeding tube placed through the belly into the stomach, or the laxative polyethylene glycol.

An oral drug that binds copper and some other metals so they leave the body in the urine.

A long-acting form of penicillin given as a deep muscle injection that releases the drug slowly over weeks.

A group of antibiotics, including penicillin and amoxicillin, that kill bacteria by stopping them from building their cell walls.

Latin for "by mouth"; a way of writing the oral route that should not be used.

A cream or lotion put on the skin or hair to kill lice and the mites that cause scabies.

A first-generation antipsychotic drug of the phenothiazine group, used for schizophrenia and for severe nausea and vomiting.

A licensed health professional who prepares and dispenses medicines and advises on their safe use.

The study of what a drug does to the body, and how it does it.

How the body takes in, spreads, changes and gets rid of a drug over time.

The study of drugs: what they are, how they work in the body and how the body handles them.

A place where medicines are prepared and given out, or the profession of preparing and dispensing them.

A drug that numbs the lining of the urinary tract to ease burning, urgency and pain with urination.

A monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) antidepressant taken by mouth.

A long-acting barbiturate used to control seizures, including seizures in newborns.

A stimulant-like drug that lowers appetite, used for a short time to help with weight loss.

A drug that tightens blood vessels, given IV to raise low blood pressure and used in nose sprays and eye drops.

An anticonvulsant drug, given by mouth or IV, used to prevent and stop seizures.

A blood test that measures how much of the antiseizure drug phenytoin is in the blood.

A drug reference, updated every year, that collects the makers' prescribing information for thousands of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Vitamin K1 given as a drug, by mouth or injection, to help the blood clot.

A cholinergic drug used as eye drops to lower pressure in the eye, and by mouth to treat dry mouth.

A diabetes pill that makes the body's cells respond better to insulin.

A broad-spectrum penicillin antibiotic given IV, in the US always combined with tazobactam.

An abbreviation for Pitocin (oxytocin); ISMP advises writing the full drug name.

An IV fluid with large molecules that stay in the blood vessels and draw fluid into them, raising the blood volume when blood is not at hand.

An abbreviation for prenatal vitamins; ISMP advises writing the full name.

Harm to the body caused by swallowing, breathing in, touching or being injected with a harmful substance, or taking too much of a drug.

The use of many medicines at the same time by one person, often defined as five or more.

A potassium salt given by mouth or IV to treat or prevent a low blood potassium level.

An iodine salt taken by mouth that shuts down the thyroid's hormone release and blocks radioactive iodine.

A medicine that adds potassium to the body, most often potassium chloride, given by mouth or IV.

A diuretic that increases urine output while keeping potassium in the body.

A water-soluble synthetic substance used to carry iodine in antiseptics and to bind ingredients in many medicines.

An abbreviation most often meaning per rectum (by way of the rectum); on an ECG it names the PR interval.

A statin drug taken by mouth to lower LDL cholesterol and the risk of heart attack and stroke.

To cause something to happen suddenly; also, solid particles that form in a liquid, or happening very fast.

A corticosteroid drug, often given as a liquid or eye drops, that reduces inflammation and calms the immune system.

A corticosteroid drug taken by mouth to reduce inflammation and calm the immune system.

A syringe that comes already filled with a set dose of a drug or solution, ready to use.