Category: D

A medication whose efficacy depends on its use with a second agent. The same drug may have little effect when used alone.  

The formal process through which drugs are tested before they are permitted to be sold. In the U.S., the process involves a series of studies on small groups of patients affected by diseases for which the drug may prove beneficial.  

The giving of a therapeutic agent to a patient, e.g. by infusion, inhalation, injection, paste, suppository or tablet.  

A national system of surveillance that records the number of deaths and emergency department visits caused by illicit drugs. It was renamed “New DAWN” in 2003.  

A drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis that acts more slowly but more effectively than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Such drugs include hydroxychloroquine, methotrexate, and tumor necrosis factor inhibitors. Within the realm of pharmaceuticals, there exists a category of antirheumatic medications encompassing chloroquine, methotrexate, cyclosporine, and gold compounds. These specific drugs possess the remarkable ability to…

Drowsiness occurring during the day rather than just before normal bedtime. It may have many causes, including insomnia and other sleep disturbances, anxiety, overwork, or the effects of prescribed or abused drugs.  

A method of staying afloat by using a minimum amount of energy. It may be kept up for hours even by non-swimmers, whereas only the most fit and expert could swim for more than 30 min. Details of the drown proofing technique may be obtained from local chapters of the American Red Cross.  

A genus of fruit flies used extensively in the study of genetics. The development of the chromosome theory of heredity was largely the outcome of research on this species.  

The number of drops of an infusion that add to a volume equal to 1 milliliter.  

A test used to identify tears of the rotator cuff muscle group, especially supraspinatus. With the patient sitting or standing, the fully abducted shoulder is slowly lowered to the side. In the presence of rotator cuff tears, the arm will fall uncontrollably to the side from a position of about 90 degrees of abduction.