5 topics with brief reviews: definitions, key facts, and class questions.
Pharmaceutical Latin is the foundational language of communication between physicians and pharmacists. In this section, we examine how to correctly format drug names and their dosage forms to ensure your prescriptions are completely error-free.
You will study the types of dosage forms, the structure of Latin phrases, and the rules for the grammatical formatting of trade names. Special attention is paid to common stems—"keys" that allow you to instantly identify a drug's pharmacological group or chemical composition (e.g., -cillin- or -aesthes-).
During classes and credit tests, instructors are most strict about grammar: where quotation marks are needed, when a trade name is capitalized, and in what case the modifying word must be placed (e.g., Solutio Novocaini). The materials in this section will help you quickly understand these nuances and master prescription writing to the point of automation.
A trade name is invented and patented by a specific pharmaceutical company to sell the finished drug. INN is the universal international nonproprietary name of the active substance itself.
How to distinguish cardiac drugs from vascular drugs by their name?
Cardiac agents contain the stems -cor(d)- and -card(i)-, whereas vascular drugs can be identified by the elements -vas- and -ang(i)-.
Which declension do Latin drug names belong to in the Russian Federation?
In the Russian tradition, they are formatted as neuter nouns of the 2nd declension with the ending -um in the nominative case.
What is the difference between an infusion and a tincture?
An infusion (Infusum) is always an aqueous extract from plant material. A tincture (Tinctura) is prepared using alcohol, ether, or their mixtures with water, and is usually transparent.
In which case is the plant name written after the word Extractum or Tinctura?
In the genitive case (Genetivus). It answers the question "of what?" — extract (of what?) of calendula (Extractum Calendulae).
Master the entire topic in the "Latin Language" course
This is a summary. The course covers everything tested in classes and exams.
2 323 pages of study guides covering all topics
Assignments and quizzes after every topic — just like in a colloquium