Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

485 results found

drug poisoning

(Encyclopedia)drug poisoning, toxic effects caused by an administered drug. Worldwide more than 9 million natural and synthetic chemicals have been identified; fewer than 3000 cause more than 95% of acidental and d...

drug resistance

(Encyclopedia)drug resistance, condition in which infecting bacteria can resist the destructive effects of drugs such as antibiotics and sulfa drugs. Drug resistance has become a serious public health problem, sinc...

corticosteroid drug

(Encyclopedia)corticosteroid drug kôrˌtəkōstârˈoid [key], any one of several synthetic or naturally occurring substances with the general chemical structure of steroids. They are used therapeutically to mimic...

thrombolytic drug

(Encyclopedia)thrombolytic drug thrŏmˌbəlĭtˈĭk [key] or clot-dissolving drug, substance, such as streptokinase or tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), that causes the breakdown of blood clots (see thrombosis) ...

psychedelic drug

(Encyclopedia)psychedelic drug sīˌkədĕlˈĭk [key]: see hallucinogenic drug. ...

psychotomimetic drug

(Encyclopedia)psychotomimetic drug sīkŏtˌōmĕmĕtˈĭk [key]: see hallucinogenic drug. ...

orphan drug

(Encyclopedia)orphan drug, drug developed under the U.S. Orphan Drug Act (1983) to treat a disease that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. The orphan drug law offers tax breaks and a seven-year...

opiate drug

(Encyclopedia)opiate drug, any of a group of drugs derived from opium. Used medicinally to relieve pain and induce sleep, they include codeine, morphine, the morphine derivative heroin, and, formerly, laudanum. Som...

sympathomimetic drug

(Encyclopedia)sympathomimetic drug sĭmpăthˌōmĭmĕtˈĭk [key], any of a group of substances whose actions resemble the response of stimulated sympathetic nerves (see nervous system). These drugs include epinep...

sulfa drug

(Encyclopedia)sulfa drug, any of a class of synthetic chemical substances derived from sulfanilamide, or para-aminobenzenesulfonamide. Sulfa drugs are used to treat bacterial infections, although they have largely ...