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Text - Health - Pharmacology Glossary.txt
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2003-07-09
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┌─────────────────────┐
│Pharmacology Glossary│
└─────────────────────┘
Abortifacient : an Agent that induces abortion.
Abortion : The expulsion of a human fetus during the first twelve
weeks of development.
Absorbent : A substance (such as a sponge) capable of absorbing another
element; a drug that promotes the absorption of diseased
tissues.
Acetum : A solution of aromatic substances in vinegar.
Ague : A fever of the malarial type characterized by chills, fever,
and sweating at regular intervals.
Alternative : An agent capable of favorably altering or changing unhealthy
conditions of the body and tending to restore normal bodily
function (a Vague term).
Analgesic : An agent that allays pain without causing loss of
consciousness.
Anaphrodisiac : An agent that lessons sexual function and desire.
Anesthetic : An agent that produces loss of sensation without loss of
vital functions.
Annual : In botany, a plant that completes its life cycle and dies
within one year. Must be replanted every year. (From the
Latin meaning of the word).
Anodyne : An agent that allays or kills pain.
Anthelmintic : An agent used to eliminate or destroy parasitic intestinal
worms.
Anticoagulant : An agent that prevents the formation of a clot in blood.
Antidote : An agent that counteracts the effects of a poison.
Antiemetic : An agent that relieves nausea and vomiting.
Antihydrotic : An agent that checks perspiration by reducing the action of
the sweat glands (the opposite of diaphoretic)
Antiperiodic : An agent that prevents the periodic return of paroxysms of
certain diseases.
Antipyretic : An agent that reduces or prevents fever.
Antiscorbutic : A remedy for scurvy, usually a substance that supplies
Vitamin C.
Antiseptic : An agent that inhibits the growth of microorganisms on
living tissue.
Antispasmodic : An agent used to prevent or ease muscular spasms or
convulsions.
Aphrodisiac : An agent that provokes or excites sexual function and desire.
Appetizer : An agent that stimulates the appetite.
Aromatic : A plant or medicine with a fragrant smell and often a warm
pungent taste usually used to mask less pleasant drugs.
Aromatic Water: A clear solution of distilled water saturated with an
aromatic, such as orange flower water or rose water.
Ascarid : A roundworm (nematode) parasitic in the intestines of
vertebrates.
Astringent : 1. a cosmetic for skin cleansing and for contracting the
pores. 2. A substance that causes contraction of tissues,
checking the discharge of mucus and fluid from the body.
Avicenna : Persian physician and philosopher (AD 980-1037) whose most
famous medical work was a systematic encyclopedia based on
the achievements of Greek physicians and his own experience.
Bactericide : An agent that destroys bacteria
Balsam : 1. The resinous aromatic exudations of certain plants or
trees. 2. An agent, especially an ointment, that heals
and sooths.
Biennial : In botany, a plant that produces seed in its second year
of life and then dies. Must be replanted every other
year. (From the Latin meaning a two-year period).
Binding : Having the ability to constipate.
Bruise : 1. An injury, especially produced by a blow or collision
that does not break the surface of the skin but by the
rupturing of small blood vessels near the surface to
cause the blood to flow into the tissues, which results
in discoloration. 2. Crushing or mangling the tissues of
a plant to release its properties.
Calmative : An agent having a mild sedative action.
Capsule : Various-sized hollow soluble transparent tubes used to
contain and administer medicines.
Cardiac : A substance that acts on the heart.
Caries : Tooth decay.
Carminative : An agent used to relieve colic, griping, or flatulence
or to expel gas from the intestine.
Castile : A fine, hard, bland, odorless soap made either partly
or completely with olive oil and sodium hydroxide,
sometimes with the addition of coconut oil.
Catarrh : An inflammation of a mucous membrane (Usually the nasal
and air passages) characterized by congestion and the
secretion of mucus.
Cathartic : An agent used to encourage the evacuation of the bowels
(A laxative or purgative).
Cerate : Any unctuous preparation of oils, sometimes with
medicinals, that is made firm by the addition of wax.
Used purely externally.
Cerebral Depressant : An agent used to lower the vital activity of the
brain.
Cerebral Excitant : An agent used to increase the vital activity of the
brain. A Stimulant.
Colic : Paroxysmal pain in the abdomen or bowel due to over
distention, toxemia, inflammation or obstruction.
Cordial : An invigorating and stimulating medicine, food or drink.
Counterirritant : An agent used to produce superficial inflammation
of the skin in order to relieve deeper inflammation.
Decoction : A liquid preparation made by boiling a medicinal plant
with water, usually one part plant to twenty parts
water, boiled in a covered nonmetal conatiner for about
fifteen minutes.
Demulcent : A medicinal liquid of a bland nature taken internally to
soothe infamed mucous surfaces and to protect them from
irritation.
Deodorant : An agent used to inhibit or mask unpleasant odors.
Depressant : An agent that reduces exaggerated functional activity
of the tissues.
Diaphoretic : A substance that increases perspiration (the opposite
of antihydrotic).
Diarrhea : An abnormal increase in frequency of intestinal
evacuations characterized by their fluid consistency.
Dioscorides : A Greek medical man of the first century AD (CE) whose
'De Materia Medica' was the leading text on pharmacology
for sixteen centuries. The treatise details the
properties of about 600 medicinally valuable plants and
animal products.
Disinfectant : An agent used to free another substance or area of the
body from infection by destroying the microorganisms
that cause disease.
Diuretic : An agent that increases the volume and flow of urine,
thereby cleansing the excretory system.
Dropsy : An abnormal accumulation of fluid in the body : edema.
Dysentery : An inflammation of the colon marked by intense diarrhea
with the passage of small amounts of mucus and blood,
usually caused by pathogenic bacteria or protozoans.
Ecbolic : A drug that accelerates uterine contractions, primarily
used to facilitate delivery (Childbirth).
Elixir : A sweetened aromatic preparation, about 25% alchol, used
as a vehicle for medicinal substances for its flavoring
or medicinal qualities.
Embrocation : A liniment.
Emetic : An agent used to bring on vomiting.
Emmenagogue : An agent that stimulates menstrual flow.
Emollient : A substance of bland nature used externally to soothe or
protect.
Emulsion : A preparation composed of totally unhomogenous
substances that are intimately mixed, causing one to be
suspended in the other. Example : The oil and egg in
mayonnaise.
Enema : A rectal injection of liquid, often used to encourage
evacuation of the bowels.
Errhine : An agent that induces sneezing - sternutatory.
Essence : 1. The volatile matter constituting perfume. 2. an
alchol or water-alchol solution of medicinal substances,
usually ten-to-twenty per cent alchol.
Excretory : Concerned with the process of elimination of waste
products through urine and sweat.
Expectorant : A substance used to expel mucus from the respiratory
tract.
Extract : A solution representing four to six times the strength
of the crude drug.
Exudate : The liquid that oozes from an inflamed area; the
products, such as gums, resins, and mucilages, formed in
the metabolical processes of a number of plants.
Febrifuge : A substance that reduces or prevents fever: antipyretic.
Felon : A painful, deep infection of the finger or toe.
Fixative : A substance added to a perfume to prevent the more
volitile ingredients from evaporating too quickly.
Fomentation : Application of heat and moisture to the body to ease
pain or reduce inflammation.
Galactagogue : An agent that promotes or increases the secretion of
milk.
Germicide : A substance that destroys germs.
Gleet : A chronic inflammation characterized by an abnormal
mucus discharge from the orifice or wound; the mucus
discharge of gonorrhea.
Griping : Causing a clutching, painful, or grasping feeling in the
bowels.
Hemostatic : An agent that arrests bleeding and hemorrhages.
Homeopathy : A system of healing advocating the administration of
small doses of a drug that would, in healthy persons,
produce symptoms of the disease being treated.
Hydragogue : A cathartic that causes copious watery discharge from
the bowels.
Hydrating : Having the capacity to maintain or restore the normal
proportion of fluid in the body or skin. Hydrating
agents are used in cosmetics to keep the skin moist,
firm, and young looking.
Hypnotic : A drug or other agent that produces or tends to produce
sleep without disturbing alertness and receptiveness
to others.
Infusion : The extraction of the active properties of a substance
by steeping or soaking it, usually in water.
Inhalation : 1. The act of drawing air into the lungs. 2. A method
of treating illness by inhaling medicinals rather than
injecting or drinking them.
Insecticide : An agent that kills insects.
Irritant : A substance that produces irritation or inflammation
of the skin or internal tissue.
Laxative : A substance used to produce bowel movement and relieve
constipation; a mild purgative.
Liniment : A medical substance, thinner than an ointment, that is
gently rubbed into the skin for relief from the pain
of sprains and bruises.
Liquor : A solution of medicinal substances in water as
distinguished from a tincture, which is a solution in
alchol.
Lotion : A liquid applied externally, usually to face and hands,
for skin disorders or for its cleansing, softening, or
astringent qualities.
Lozenge or Troche : A small flat candy, variously flavored and sometimes
medicated.
Lumbricoid : A parasitic worm, usually the roundworm Ascaris.
Malignant Fever : A severely deteriorating or deadly Fever.
Medicinal : Any substance used for treating disease.
Mellita : Any liquid medicine mixed with honey instead of syrup.
Morphew : A skin disease marked by patches of discoloration.
Mucilage : A gelatinous substance that swells in water without
dissolving and forms a slimy mass. Used as an
adhesive or demulcent.
Mucilaginous : Resembling a mucilage; slimy, sticky.
Mydriatic : A substance that dilates the pupil of the eye.
Narcotic : A drug that in moderate doses allays sensibility,
relieves pain, and produces sleep but if misused, or
taken in large doses, is poisonous to the system.
Nervine : A substance that soothes nervous excitement.
Neuralgia : A severe recurrent pain along one or more nerves,
usually nolt associated with changes in the nerve
structure.
Oxymel : A preparation containing honey, water, and vinegar,
used as an expectorant, usually five parts honey, one
part water, and one part vinegar.
Oxytocic : A drug that hastens childbirth by inducing the
contractions of the uterine muscles.
