BROAD CLASSIFICATION OF DRUGS

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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