Prescription Medications Glossary of Terms

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Ad lib: Abbreviation for the Latin "ad libitum" meaning "at pleasure" and "at one's pleas...

Breastfeeding: Feeding a child human breast milk. According to the American Academy of Ped...

Dizziness: Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of ...

Ear: The hearing organ. There are three sections of the ear, according to the anatomy tex...

Expiration date: The date for a drug estimated for its shelf life with proper storage in s...

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Fetus: An unborn offspring, from the embryo stage (the end of the eighth week after concep...

Food and Drug Administration: An agency within the US Public Health Service that provides ...

Generic: 1. The chemical name of a drug. 2. A term referring to the chemical...

Herbal: 1. An adjective, referring to herbs, as in an herbal tea.
2. A...

Ipecac: A naturally occurring substance with multiple properties including the ability to ...

Itching: An uncomfortable sensation in the skin that feels as if something is crawling on ...

Malaria: An infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites from the Plasmodium family th...

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and con...

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

Nurse: 1) A person trained, licensed, or skilled in nursing. 2) To feed an infant at the ...

Nurse practitioner: A registered nurse (RN) who has completed an advanced training program...

Pharmacist: A professional who fills prescriptions and, in the case of a compounding pharm...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Poison: Any substance that can cause severe organ damage or death if ingested, breathed in...

Poison control center: A special information center set up to inform people about how to r...

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Thi...

Pregnant: The state of carrying a developing fetus within the body.

Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or dev...

Substance: 1. Material with particular features.
2. The material that...

Syringe: A medical device that is used to inject fluid into, or withdraw fluid from, the b...

Teaspoon: An old-fashioned but convenient household measure that is equal to about 5 cc of...

Vitamins: The word "vitamin" was coined in 1911 by the Warsaw-born biochemist Casimir Funk...

Vomit: Matter from the stomach that has come up into and may be ejected beyond the mouth, ...