Category: A

Antihistamine drugs antagonise the action of histamine and are therefore of value in the treatment of certain allergic conditions. They may be divided into those which have an effect on the brain (e.g. flupheniramine and cyclizine) and those such as loratidine and terfenadine, which have little or no such action. Antihistamines are also of some…

Initial treatment of acute diarrhoea is to prevent or correct the loss of fluid and electrolytes from the body. This is a priority especially in infants and elderly people. Rehydration can be achieved orally or, in severe cases, by urgent admission to hospital for the replacement of fluid and electrolytes.  

These widely used drugs include a range of different preparations which can relieve moderate or severe depression. They are not effective in milder forms of depression although they may be tried for a short time if other therapies have failed. Pharmaceutical substances employed in the management of depression are referred to as antidepressant drugs. The…

A group of drugs, which include antibiotics, used to treat infections caused by bacteria. Drugs include cephalosporins and cephamycins, tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, macrolides, and antituberculous compounds. A category of medications is employed in the treatment of bacterial infections. In the past, the term “antibacterial” specifically denoted synthetic antibiotic drugs, distinguishing them from naturally derived counterparts. However,…

The protocol which doctors and midwives follow to ensure that the pregnant mother and her fetus are kept in good health, and that the pregnancy and birth have a satisfactory outcome. The pregnant mother is seen regularly at a clinic where, for example, her blood pressure is checked, the growth and development of her child-to-be…

Any drug or treatment that eases pain. These may range from opium — the oldest and most powerful anodyne but a highly addictive substance —through analgesics, to warmth and massage.  

Called after a Swedish physicist, this is a measurement of length and equals 1/10,000 of a micrometre, or one-hundred-millionth of a centimetre. It is represented by the symbol A and is used to give the length of electromagnetic waves. An internationally adopted unit of length equal to 10 10 m, or 0.1 nm; used especially…

An enzyme present in the venom of the Malayan pit viper, which destroys the fibrinogen in blood and thereby prevents the blood from clotting. In other words it is an anticoagulant. An enzyme purified from the venom of a Malayan pit viper and used as an anticoagulant.  

The dilated section of the common bile duct when it is joined by the duct from the pancreas. The dilation segment of the duct through which both bile and pancreatic juices traverse into the intestine is referred to as the ampulla. Interestingly, the term “ampulla” finds its origins in Latin, where it denotes a vessel…

An adjective denoting the kind of breathing heard over a cavity in the lung. The sound is like that made by blowing over the mouth of a narrow-necked vase. To a sound such as that caused by blowing across the mouth of a bottle; a resonance; a cavernous sound on percussion of a pulmonary cavity.…