BROAD CLASSIFICATION OF DRUGS
Drugs may be classified according to their
chemical composition, clinical action, therapeutic effects, by the symptoms
relieved by the drug.
Broad classification of drugs according to
their action:
o Analgesics: Drugs used to relieve pain.
o Anaesthetics: Drugs which causes loss of sensation.
o Anthelmintic
and vermifuges: Drugs which destroy and
expel worms.
o Antipyretics: drugs which reduce fever.
o Antidotes: Substance used to counteract the effects of poison.
o Anti-infective: Act either to inhibit, kill or retard the growth of microorganisms.
o Anti-inflammatory: Helps to reduce the inflammation.
o Anti-coagulants: Substance which inhibit or decrease the blood clotting process.
o Anti-histamine: Agents which block the effect of histamines, thus prevent
allergies.
o Antacids: Substance that react with hydrochloric acid to decrease the
activity of gastric secretions.
o Anti
convulsants: Used to treat or
prevent convulsions, there for it is used for the treatment of epilepsy.
o Antibiotics: Products of living microorganism that have the ability to destroy
or inhibit the growth of other organisms.
o Antidiarrheal: Agents used to treat the diarrhoea, either by detoxicating the
noxious substances or by killing the gastrointestinal microorganisms, or merely
soothe the irritated bowel mucosa and reduce the spasm.
o Antitussive: drugs that prevent the cough reflex, act directly on the cough
centers of CNS.
o Anti-asthmatics: Drugs which provide symptomatic relief of asthmatic attack.
o Androgens: These are the hormones secreted by the testes and adrenal cortex.
They are steroids which can be synthesized to produce the secondary male
characteristics.
o Antipruritic: A drug that relieves itching.
o Antiphlogestics: A drug used to prevent the progress of inflammation.
o Antiseptics: A substance that inhibits the growth of bacteria.
o Anti-fungal
(antimycotics): A drug which prevent
the growth of fungi or destruction of fungi.
o Anti-spasmodic: An agent that relieves spasmodic pain or spasm of muscles.
o Antiemetic: Drug that relieves nausea and vomiting.
o Anti-tuberculin: Specific drugs used in the treatment of tuberculosis.
o Anti-rheumatics: Drugs used to treat rheumatism.
o Astringent: A drug that causes the contraction of tissues and arrest the
discharges.
o Bronchodilators: Medicines which relax muscles of the bronchioles by reducing the
smooth muscle spasm or mucosal edema.
o Coagulants: Helps in clotting blood either by increased formation of the liver
precursors or by the clotting factors present in the drug administered.
o Carminatives: Drugs which cause expulsion of gas from the stomach and intestine.
o Cathartics: Drugs used to evacuate the intestine. These are subdivided as
follows.
o Laxatives: Have a mild action
o Purgatives: Powerful than laxatives.
o Drastics: Have a violent action.
o Hdragogues: produce copious watery stool.
o Diaphoretics: Drugs which increase the action of sweat glands.
o Diuretics: Which increase the flow of urine.
o Emetics: Drugs that produce vomiting.
o Oxytocins: Drugs which induce uterine contractions.
o Expectorants: Increase the bronchial secretion and aid in the expulsion of mucus.
o Hypnotics: Drugs that produce sleep.
o Hypotensive
drugs: Drugs capable of reducing BP.
o Inotrops: Drugs that strengthen the heart contraction.
o Mydriatics: Drugs, capable of dilate the pupil of the eye.
o Myotics: Causes the contraction of the pupil of the eye.
o Muscle
relaxants: Agents used to relax the stiffness of the muscles.
o Nasal
decongestants: Drugs which produce
shrinkage of the nasal mucosa and relieve the nasal congestion.
o Narcotics: Drugs that produce stupor or complete insensibility.
o Sedatives: Substances which lessen the body activity.
o Stimulators: Increases the functional activities of an organ or system.
o Tranquillizers: These class of drugs whose principal effect is to calm nervous,
anxious, exited or disturbed clients without affecting the consciousness.
o Vasodilators: Drugs which dilate the blood vessel and consequently lowers the
blood pressure.
o Vasoconstrictors: Drugs or agents that causes constriction of blood vessels with the
effect of rising the BP.
o Biological: Medicinal preparations of a complex biologic nature. Their action
depends on numerous phases of immunity. They include vaccines, serums,
anti-toxins and antigens.
o Cholagogues: drugs which are supposed to increase the amount of bile secreted.
o Corticosteroids: hormonal drugs extracted from the adrenal cortex. They are grouped
as
§ l. Glucocorti coids: which stimulate the
conversion of proteins to carbohydrates.
§ 2. Mineralocorticoids: Which regulate the sodium and potassium metabolism
o Caustics: substances that are destructive to living tissue.
o Demulcents: Substances that soften, soothe and protect mucus membrane.
o Digestants: an agent that pron10te digestion
o Scabicides: topical anti-infectives used in the treatment of scabies
o Emnagogues: A drug that stimulates or favours menstrual discharge.
o Emollient: substances that smoothens, softens and protects the skin.
o Galactagogue: substances that increases the flow of milk.
o Haemostatics: an agent that stops haemorrhage.
o Hypoglycemics: drugs that lowers the blood sugar level.
o Haematinics: An agent which increases the haemoglobin content of the blood.
o Hormones: substitutes for body hormones
o Keratolytics: drugs that soften the horney layer of the skin and helps its
removal
o Urinary
antiseptics: Any one of the organic
or inorganic compounds, when administered is secreted by the kidneys and either
stops or inhibit the growth of bacteria in the urinary tract.
o Vermifuge: a drugs that expels worms or intestinal parasites.
o Stomachics
or gastric tonics: drugs which increase
appetite and promote digestion.
o Sedative
expectorants: drugs which reduces
cough and makes it more effective by soothing the inflamed respiratory mucosa.
o Stimulant
expectorant: drugs used to increase
bronchial secretion by irritating the bronchial mucosa.
o Sulphonamides: Anti-bacterial drug. It has a chemical resernblance to
Para-amino-benzoic acid (PABA), a substance needed for the metabolism of
microorganisms. Normal utilization of PABA is inhibited when sulphonamides are
present.
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