27. Names of drugs. Classification of drugs by group

Parts of a prescription (receptum)

1. Inscriptio: the doctor's and the patient's details, and the date.
2. Invocatio: Rp. (Recipe — "take"), the instruction to the pharmacist.
3. Designatio materiarum: the medicines and their amounts.
4. Subscriptio: what the pharmacist does, e.g. Misce. Fiat pulvis. Da. Signa.
5. Signatura: after S. (Signa — "label"), how the patient takes it, in the patient's language.
6. The doctor's signature and stamp.

Grammar of the prescription

• Names of medicines and ingredients stand in the genitive when an amount follows: Tincturae Valerianae 10 ml, Solutionis Chlorhexidini 0,12% 250 ml.
• Dose forms counted by number stand in the accusative after Recipe: Recipe: Tabulettas Ibuprofeni 0,4 numero 20.
• Amounts are in grams unless another unit is written (ml, drops, units).

Chemical names

• Acids: Acidum + adjective in -icum: Acidum ascorbinicum (ascorbic acid).
• Salts and oxides: the cation in the genitive, the anion in the nominative: Natrii chloridum (sodium chloride), Magnesii sulfas (magnesium sulfate), Zinci oxidum (zinc oxide).
• Anion endings: -idum (-ide: chloridum, fluoridum, oxidum, hydroxidum), -as (-ate: sulfas, nitras), -is (-ite: sulfis).
• In dentistry: Natrii fluoridum (fluoride prophylaxis), Calcii hydroxidum (calcium hydroxide liners), Lidocaini hydrochloridum (local anaesthesia), Chlorhexidini digluconas (mouth rinse), Hydrogenii peroxidum, Zinci oxidum with Eugenolum (zinc oxide–eugenol).