Pharmacy glossary
This glossary contains some frequent words that we use in pharmacy. It can be words that are explaining the effect of a drug or his category. It will help the reader to understand the pharmacy language.
- Antibiotic
- Noun
- A medicine (such as penicillin or its derivatives) that inhibits the growth of or destroys microorganisms.
- Example: The potential of the method is, however, illustrated by experiments undertaken on a mutant variety of tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum ), which has an inbred resistance to the ANTIBIOTIC streptomycin, and petunia ( Petunia hybrida ).
- en: Antibiotique
- Anticoagulant
- Noun
- Having the effect of retarding or inhibiting the coagulation of the blood.
- Example: Comparison of 3 and 6 months of oral ANTICOAGULANT therapy after a first episode of proximal deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism and comparison of 6 and 12 weeks of therapy after isolated calf deep vein thrombosis.
- en: Anticoagulant
- Antipsychotic
- Noun or adjective
- Adjective: (chiefly of a drug) used to treat psychotic disorders. Noun: an antipsychotic drug.
- Example: He is prescribed an atypical ANTIPSYCHOTIC medication to help alleviate his condition and is visited on a regular basis by a Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN) with less frequent appointments with a consultant psychiatrist.
- en: Antipsychotique
- Arrhythmia
- Noun
- A condition in which the heart beats with an irregular or abnormal rhythm.
- Example: Reasons for the ARRHYTHMIA could be due to electrolyte imbalance and needs to be checked on blood tests.
- en: Arythmie
- Benzodiazepine
- Noun
- Any of a class of heterocyclic organic compounds used as tranquilizers, such as Librium and Valium.
- Example: If the detox is taking place within an inpatient environment, the practitioner may wish to prescribe a BENZODIAZEPINE to reduce withdrawal symptoms although a strict procedure is usually followed by the nursing staff before the administration of these drugs.
- en: Benzodiazépine
- Bronchodilator
- Noun
- A drug that causes widening of the bronchi, e.g., any of those taken by inhalation for the alleviation of asthma.
- Example: The tremor observed in the patient's hands and fingers is most likely caused by stimulation of β receptors in skeletal muscle by BRONCHODILATOR drugs e.g.
- en: Bronchodilatateur
- Controlled release
- Adjective
- (Of a substance, as a medicine or insecticide) Released or activated at predetermined intervals or gradually over a period of time.
- Example: These allow slow CONTROLLED RELEASE of N from organic manures which will reduce leaching, however guaranteeing there effectiveness when incorporated into large stores of manure makes it hard to guarantee their effectiveness.
- en: Libération contrôlée
- Controlled substance
- Noun
- Any of a category of behavior-altering or addictive drugs, as heroin or cocaine, whose possession and use are restricted by law.
- Example: Within the Trust's policy on illicit substance (Charnok S 2003) it is mentioned that because alcohol is not a CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, it remains the private property of individuals.
- en: Substance contrôlée
- Cytotoxic
- Adjective
- Toxic to living cells.
- Example: Radiotherapy and CYTOTOXIC chemotherapy are used palliatively where the tumour is inoperable.
- en: Cytotoxique
- Diabetes
- Noun
- A disease in which the body’s ability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin is impaired, resulting in abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates and elevated levels of glucose in the blood and urine.
- Example: Stem cells and DIABETES DIABETES is a condition characterised by abnormally high levels of glucose in the bloodstream which reduces life expectancy by a median of twelve years (Mangel et al. referenced in 13) and affects sixteen million people in the USA (12).
- en: Diabète
- Diagnosis
- Noun
- The identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by examination of the symptoms.
- Example: Other applications in DNA fingerprinting are in disease DIAGNOSIS and understanding.
- en: Diagnostic
- Dosage
- Noun
- The size or frequency of a dose of a medicine or drug.
- Example: Monitoring the presence and occurrence of her hallucinations will be an indication of how well the chlordiazepoxide is working and whether the DOSAGE is correct.
- en: Dosage
- Drug administration
- Noun
- The giving of a therapeutic agent to a patient, e.g. by infusion, inhalation, injection, paste, suppository or tablet.
- Example: The Food and DRUG ADMINISTRATION has proposed labeling of trans fatty acids in foods, whereas naturally occurring fatty acid are in the cis conformation.
- en: Administration de médicaments
- Efficacy
- Noun
- The ability to produce a desired or intended result.
- Example: One of the best recommendations is that if bed-rails are to be used, then their EFFICACY and continued relevance should be reviewed and evaluated regularly.
- en: Efficacité
- Heart failure
- Noun
- Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs for blood and oxygen.
- Example: his case shows that early treatment for tachycardiomyopathy - considered the most frequently unrecognised curable cause of HEART FAILURE - can prevent irreversible structural cardiac damage [8]
- en: Insuffisance cardiaque
- Hyperactivity
- Noun
- Constantly active and sometimes disruptive behavior, occurring primarily in children.
- Example: Parental and self-report of sleep in children with Attention-Deficit HYPERACTIVITY Disorder.
- en: Hyperactivité
- Interaction
- Noun
- A drug interaction is a change in the action or side effects of a drug caused by concomitant administration with a food, beverage, supplement, or another drug. A cause of a drug interaction involves one drug which alters the pharmacokinetics of another medical drug.
- Example: There is an interaction between the calcium and the minocycline, an acne antibiotic.
- en: Interaction
- Photosensitivity
- Noun
- Sensitive to the action of radiant energy photosensitive paper. 2 : being or caused by an abnormal reaction to sunlight photosensitive rashes.
- Example: She also experiences PHOTOSENSITIVITY of the skin, presumably a side effect of her current drug regime which includes amiodarone.
- en: Photosensibilité
- Side effects
- Noun
- A secondary, typically undesirable effect of a drug or medical treatment.
- Example: However the cost, SIDE EFFECTS and allergy risk associated with antibiotics call into question whether they should be prescribed in acute asthma.
- en: Effets secondaires
- Sterile
- Adjective
- Free from living organisms and especially pathogenic microorganisms.
- Example: The unsatisfactory result for this part of the exercise has highlighted the importance of having a STERILE environment and STERILE instruments as well as using appropriate techniques in the cultivation of microorganisms.
- en: Stérile
