Soft dosage forms

Suppositories (Suppositoria)

In Latin prescription writing, suppositories are most commonly encountered as rectal or vaginal forms. There are two main approaches to prescribing them: magistral (when the physician lists all ingredients) and officinal (when the ready-made form is prescribed).

When prescribing complex dosed suppositories magistrally, it is necessary to specify the exact composition for a single dose. The following complex composition can serve as an example:

• Extractum Belladonnae (belladonna extract) — taken in an amount of 0.02;
• Xeroformium (xeroform) — 0.1;
• Zinci sulfas (zinc sulfate) — 0.05;
• Glycerinum (glycerin) — 0.12.

The shaping base in this case is cocoa butter — Oleum Cacao, which is required in the amount of 2.0 grams per single suppository. After listing all components, the pharmacist is given a direct instruction to mix them to form a suppository: Misce, fiat suppositorium. This is followed by an order to dispense a certain number of doses, for example, ten: Da tales doses numero 10 (or abbreviated as D.t.d. N. 10).

If a ready-made medicinal form is prescribed, for example, diprophylline suppositories at a dosage of 0.5, the prescription looks much simpler. The physician immediately uses the construction Suppositoria cum Diprophyllino 0.5, indicating the required number of pieces to be dispensed.

Pastes (Pastae)

Pastes are a type of ointment with a thicker consistency. When prescribing them, an expanded prescription form is often used, listing the active substances, fillers, and the base that brings the mass up to the required weight.

Consider a classic complex paste containing ichthamol, zinc, and starch. The prescription indicates:

1. Ichthyolum (ichthamol) in the genitive case — Ichthyoli 1.25.
2. Zinc oxide (Zinci oxydum) and wheat starch (Amylum Tritici). If these components are taken in equal quantities (12.5 each), the Latin word ana is used, meaning "in equal parts".
3. Vaseline (Vaselinum) is used as the base. To indicate that vaseline should be added until a total mass of 50.0 grams is reached, the preposition ad is used — Vaselini ad 50.0.

Such a prescription ends with the standard formulation for pastes: mix, let a paste be formed — Misce, fiat pasta (or M.f. pasta).

Ointments and liniments (Unguenta et Linimenta)

Ointments (Unguenta) are prescribed by indicating the active substance, its concentration, and the total weight. In the prescription line, the name of the ointment and the active substance are always put in the genitive case. For example, hydrocortisone acetate ointment is prescribed as Unguentum Hydrocortisoni acetatis. The concentration can be 0.5%, and the weight — 20.0 g. Erythromycin ointment is prescribed similarly: the physician writes Rp.: Unguenti Erythromycini 15,0, followed by standard instructions Da. Signa: (Dispense. Label).

Liniments (Linimenta) are liquid ointments. They can also be simple or complex. A complex liniment is necessarily accompanied by the adjective compositus (in the genitive case — compositi). A prime example is methyl salicylate complex liniment. In the prescription, this is reflected as Linimenti Methylii salicylatis compositi 50,0. At the end, the abbreviation D.S. is placed, which stands for the command to dispense and indicate the method of administration for the patient.

Class and exam questions

What else to study on this topic

• Declension of nouns in the names of ointments and liniments
• Features of prescribing vaginal suppositories
• Rules for using the preposition cum in prescriptions
• Decoding standard prescription abbreviations (D.t.d., D.S.)

Other topics in the section "Termino-element Vocabulary (from meaning to TE)"

Prepared by WhiteCoat Pro faculty in accordance with the medical school curriculum. For educational purposes only.