CHAPTER 1 Definitions, Names, Standards, and

Information Sources

DEFINITIONS

Objectives
1. State the origin and definition of pharmacology.

2. Explain the meaning of therapeutic methods.

Key Terms
pharmacology

therapeutic methods

drugs

medicines

Pharmacology
Pharmacology (Greek pharmakon, drugs, and logos, science)
deals with the study of drugs and their actions on living
organisms.

Therapeutic Methods
Diseases may be treated in several different ways. The
approaches to therapy are called therapeutic methods. Most
illnesses require a combination of therapeutic methods for
successful treatment. Examples of therapeutic methods include
the following:

• Drug therapy: treatment with drugs

• Diet therapy: treatment by diet, such as a low-salt diet for

patients with cardiovascular disease

• Physiotherapy: treatment with natural physical forces

such as water, light, and heat
 • Psychological therapy: identification of stressors and
methods to reduce or eliminate stress and/or the use of drugs

Drugs
Drugs (Dutch droog, meaning dry) are chemical substances that
have an effect on living organisms. Therapeutic drugs, often
called medicines, are those drugs used in the prevention or
treatment of diseases. Up until a few decades ago, dried plants
were the greatest source of medicines; thus the word drug was
applied to them.

DRUG NAMES (UNITED STATES)

Objectives
1. Describe the process used to name drugs.

2. Differentiate among the chemical, generic, official, and

brand names of medicines.

Key Terms
chemical name

generic name

brand nofficial nameame

proprietrademark

tary names

over-the-counter (OTC) drugs

lillegal drugs

Many drugs have a variety of names. This may cause confusion to

the patient, physician, and nurse, so care must be taken in
obtaining the exact name and spelling of a particular drug. When
administering the prescribed drug, the spelling on the drug
package must correspond exactly to the spelling of the drug
ordered to ensure that the proper medicine is administered.

Chemical Name
The chemical name is most meaningful to the chemist. By
means of the chemical name, the chemist understands exactly
the chemical constitution of the drug and the exact placing of its
atoms or molecular groupings.

Generic Name (Nonproprietary Name)

Before a drug becomes official, it is given a generic name, or
common name. A generic name is simpler than the chemical
name. It may be used in any country and by any manufacturer.
The first letter of the generic name is not capitalized. Students
are strongly encouraged to learn and refer to drugs by their
generic name because formularies are maintained by generic
name. When a therapeutically equivalent drug is available in a
generic form, a generic medicine is routinely substituted for the
brand name medicine.

Generic names are provided by the United States Adopted

Names (USAN) Council, which is an organization sponsored by
the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, the American Medical
Association, and the American Pharmaceutical Association.

Official Name
The official name is the name under which the drug is listed by
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is
empowered by federal law to name the drugs for human use in
the United States.

Trademark (Brand Name)

A trademark or brand name or proprietary name is followed
by the symbol®. This indicates that the name is registered and
that its use is restricted to the owner of the drug, who is usually
the manufacturer. Most drug companies place their products on
the market under trade names instead of official names. The
trade names are deliberately made easier to pronounce, spell,
and remember. The first letter of the trade name is capitalized.

EXAMPLE (Figure 1-1):

Chemical name: 4-Thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxy-lic

acid, 6-[(aminophenylacetyl)amino]-3,3-dimethyl-7-oxo-, [2S-
[2α,-5α,6β(S*)]]-
 Generic name: ampicillin

Official name: ampicillin, USP

Brand names: Principen, Polycillin

Drug Classifications
Drugs may be classified according to which body system they
affect (e.g., drugs affecting the central nervous system, drugs
affecting the cardiovascular system, or drugs affecting the
gastrointestinal system).

Drugs may be classified by their therapeutic use or clinical

indications (e.g., antacids, antibiotics, antihypertensives,
diuretics, or laxatives).

Drugs may be classified using the physiologic or chemical action

(e.g., anticholinergics, beta adrenergic blockers, calcium channel
blockers, and cholinergics).

Drugs may be further classified as prescription or

nonprescription, also known as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.
Prescription drugs require an order by a health professional who
is licensed to prescribe, such as a physician, nurse practitioner,
physician assistant, pharmacist, or dentist. The manufacturer's
label will identify prescription medicines with the phrases: “Rx
only” or “Caution: Federal Law Prohibits Dispensing Without a
Prescription.” Nonprescription, or OTC, drugs are sold without a
prescription in a pharmacy or the health section of department
or grocery stores.
FIGURE 1-1 Ampicillin, an antibiotic.

Illegal drugs, sometimes referred to as recreational drugs, are

drugs or chemical substances used for nontherapeutic purposes.
These substances are obtained illegally or have not received
approval for use by the FDA. See Chapter 49 for further
information on substance abuse.

DRUG NAMES (CANADA)

Objective
 1. Differentiate between the official drug and the proper
name of a medicine.

Key Term
Food and Drug Regulations

Official Drug
The term official drug pertains to any drug for which a standard
is described either specifically in the Food and Drug
Regulations or in any publication named in the Food and Drugs
Act as satisfactory for officially describing the standards for
drugs in Canada. The chemical and generic names of medicines
are the same in both Canada and the United States, but there
are some dissimilarities in brand names.

Proper Name
The proper name is the nonproprietary (generic) name used to
describe an official drug in Canada.

SOURCES OF DRUG STANDARDS (UNITED STATES)

Objective
1. List official sources of American drug standards.

Key Term
The United States Pharmacopeia (USP)/National
Formulary (NF)

Standardization is needed to ensure that drug products made by

different manufacturers, or in different batches by the same
manufacturer, will be uniformly pure and potent. The United
States Pharmacopeial Convention, Inc. is a non-government
organization that promotes the public health by establishing state-
of-the-art standards to ensure the quality of medicines and other
health care technologies. These standards are developed by a
unique process of public involvement and are accepted worldwide.
The United States Pharmacopeial Convention, Inc. operates as a
nonprofit organization that achieves its goals through the
contributions of volunteers representing pharmacy, medicine, and
 other health care professions, as well as science, academia, the
U.S. government, the pharmaceutical industry, and consumer
organizations. The organization's Internet address is www.usp.org.

(Clayton, Bruce D.. Basic Pharmacology for Nurses, 14th Edition. C.V.
Mosby, 112006. 1).
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