A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine, medication or medicament, can be loosely defined as any chemical substance In chemistry, a chemical substance is a material with a specific chemical composition intended for use in the medical diagnosis Medical diagnosis refers both to the process of attempting to determine the identity of a possible disease or disorder and to the opinion reached by this process, cure A cure or remission is the end of a medical condition. The term may refer specifically to a substance or procedure that ends the medical condition, such as a medication, a surgical operation, a change in lifestyle, or even a philosophical mindset that helps a person suffer. It may also refer to the state of being healed, or cured, treatment Therapy , or treatment, is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a diagnosis. In the medical field, it is synonymous with the word "treatment". Among psychologists, the term may refer specifically to psychotherapy or "talk therapy", or prevention Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms. The term contrasts in method with curative and palliative medicine, and in scope with public health methods (which work at the level of population health rather than individual health) of disease A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal disfunctions, such as autoimmune diseases. Ecologically, disease is defined as.^[1][2]

Classification

Medications can be classified in various ways,^[3] such as by chemical properties A chemical property is any of a material's properties that becomes evident during a chemical reaction; that is, any quality that can be established only by changing a substance's chemical identity. Simply speaking, chemical properties cannot be determined just by viewing or touching the substance; the substance's internal structure must be, mode or route of administration A route of administration in pharmacology and toxicology is the path by which a drug, fluid, poison, or other substance is brought into contact with the body, biological system In biology, a Biological system is a group of organs that work together to perform a certain task. Common systems, such as those present in mammals and other animals, seen in human anatomy, are those such as the circulatory system, the respiratory system, the nervous system, etc affected, or therapeutic effects A therapeutic effect is a consequence of a medical treatment of any kind, the results of which are judged to be desirable and beneficial. This is true whether the result was expected, unexpected, or even an unintended consequence of the treatment. An adverse effect, on the other hand, is a harmful and undesired effect. An elaborate and widely used classification system is the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System is used for the classification of drugs. It is controlled by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (WHOCC), and was first published in 1976 (ATC system). The World Health Organization The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health Organization, which had been an agency of the keeps a list of essential medicines The WHO has published a model list of essential medicines. Each country is encouraged to prepare their own lists taking into consideration local priorities. At present over 150 countries have published an official essential medicines list. The WHO List contains a core list and a complementary list.

A sampling of classes of medicine includes:

1. Antipyretics Antipyretics are drugs that reduce fever. They will not normally lower body temperature if one does not have a fever. Antipyretics cause the hypothalamus to override an interleukin-induced increase in temperature. The body will then work to lower the temperature and the result is a reduction in fever: reducing fever Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of 36.5–37.5 °C (98–100 °F) due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering (pyrexia/pyresis)
2. Analgesics An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain (achieve analgesia). The word analgesic derives from Greek an- ("without") and algos ("pain"). Analgesic drugs act in various ways on the peripheral and central nervous systems; they include paracetamol (para-acetylaminophenol, also known in the US as: reducing pain Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. It is the feeling common to such experiences as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone" (painkillers)
3. Antimalarial drugs Quinine has a long history stretching from Peru, and the discovery of the cinchona tree, and the potential uses of its bark, to the current day and a collection of derivatives that are still frequently used in the prevention and treatment of malaria. Quinine is an alkaloid that acts as a blood schizonticidal and weak gametocide against Plasmodium: treating malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas , Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and three million people, the majority of whom
4. Antibiotics In common usage, an antibiotic is a substance or compound that kills bacteria or inhibits their growth. Antibiotics belong to the broader group of antimicrobial compounds, used to treat infections caused by microorganisms, including fungi and protozoa: inhibiting germ A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is microscopic (too small to be seen by the naked human eye). The study of microorganisms is called microbiology, a subject that began with Anton van Leeuwenhoek's discovery of microorganisms in 1675, using a microscope of his own design growth
5. Antiseptics Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances that are applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from antibiotics by the latter's ability to be transported through the lymphatic system to destroy bacteria within the body, and from disinfectants, which destroy: prevention of germ growth near burns A burn is a type of injury to the skin caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation or friction. Most burns only affect the skin . Rarely deeper tissues, such as muscle, bone, and blood vessels can also be injured. Managing burns is important because they are common, painful and can result in disfiguring and disabling scarring. Burns, cuts and wounds In medicine, a wound is a type of injury in which skin is torn, cut or punctured , or where blunt force trauma causes a contusion (a closed wound). In pathology, it specifically refers to a sharp injury which damages the dermis of the skin

Types of medications (type of pharmacotherapy Pharmacotherapy is the treatment of disease through the administration of drugs. As such, it is considered part of the larger category of therapy)

For the gastrointestinal tract (digestive system)

• Upper digestive tract The Human gastrointestinal tract or digestive system is the system by which ingested food is acted upon by physical and chemical means to provide the body with nutrients it can absorb and to excrete waste products; in mammals the system includes the alimentary canal extending from the mouth to the anus, and the hormones and enzymes assisting in: antacids An antacid is any substance, generally a base or basic salt, which neutralizes stomach acidity, reflux suppressants A reflux suppressant is any one of a number of drugs used to combat oesophageal reflux. Commonly, following ingestion a 'raft' of alginic acid is created, floating on the stomach contents by carbon dioxide released by the drug. This forms a mechanical barrier to further reflux. Some preparations also contain antacids to protect the oesophagus, antiflatulents For the alleviation of flatulence, an antifoaming agent such as simethicone may be taken orally. This agent will coalesce the smaller gas bubbles into larger bubbles, thereby easing the release of gas within the gastrointestinal tract via burping or flatulence, antidopaminergics A dopamine antagonist is a drug which blocks dopamine receptors by receptor antagonism. There are five known types of dopamine receptors in the human body; they are found in the brain, peripheral nervous system, blood vessels, and the kidney, proton pump inhibitors Proton pump inhibitors are a group of drugs whose main action is a pronounced and long-lasting reduction of gastric acid production. They are the most potent inhibitors of acid secretion available today. The group followed and has largely superseded another group of pharmaceuticals with similar effects, but different mode-of-action, called H2- (PPIs), H₂-receptor antagonistss The H2-receptor antagonists are a class of drugs used to block the action of histamine on parietal cells in the stomach, decreasing the production of acid by these cells. H2 antagonist are used in the treatment of dyspepsia, although they have largely been surpassed in popularity by the more effective proton pump inhibitors. In the United States,, cytoprotectants A cytoprotectant is any medication that combats ulcers not by reducing gastric acid but by increasing mucosal protection, prostaglandin analogues coumarins: Acenocoumarol • Coumatetralyl • Dicoumarol • Ethyl biscoumacetate • Phenprocoumon • Warfarin
• Lower digestive tract: laxatives Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas in that circumstance. Sufficiently high doses of laxatives, antispasmodics An antispasmodic is a drug or an herb that suppresses muscle spasms, antidiarrhoeals cardiac therapy/antianginals , bile acid sequestrants The bile acid sequestrants are a group of medications used to bind certain components of bile in the gastrointestinal tract. They disrupt the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids by sequestering them and preventing their reabsorption from the gut. They are generally classified as hypolipidemic agents, although they may be used for purposes, opioid An opioid is a chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. The receptors in these organ systems mediate both the beneficial effects and the side effects of opioids

For the cardiovascular system The circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients , gases, hormones, blood cells, etc. to and from cells in the body to help fight diseases and help stabilize body temperature and pH to maintain homeostasis

• General: β-receptor blockers Beta blockers is a class of drugs used for various indications, but particularly for the management of cardiac arrhythmias, cardioprotection after myocardial infarction (heart attack), and hypertension. As beta adrenergic receptor antagonists, they diminish the effects of epinephrine (adrenaline) and other stress hormones. Invented by Sir James W ("beta blockers"), calcium channel blockers Calcium channel blockers are a class of drugs and natural substances that disrupt the calcium (Ca2+) conduction of calcium channels, diuretics A diuretic is any drug that elevates the rate of urination and thus provides a means of forced diuresis. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics increase the excretion of water from bodies, although each class does so in a distinct way, cardiac glycosides Cardiac glycosides are drugs used in the treatment of congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia. These glycosides are found as secondary metabolites in several plants, but also in some animals, antiarrhythmics Antiarrhythmic agents are a group of pharmaceuticals that are used to suppress fast rhythms of the heart , such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, ventricular tachycardia, and ventricular fibrillation, nitrate The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO−3 and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identical oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a formal charge of negative one, where each oxygen carries, antianginals An antianginal is any drug used in the treatment of angina pectoris, a symptom of ischaemic heart disease, vasoconstrictors Vasoconstriction is the narrowing of the blood vessels resulting from contraction of the muscular wall of the vessels, particularly the large arteries, small arterioles and veins. The process is the opposite of vasodilation, the widening of blood vessels. The process is particularly important in staunching hemorrhage and acute blood loss. When, vasodilators Vasodilation refers to the widening of blood vessels resulting from relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, particularly in the large arteries, smaller arterioles and large veins. The process is essentially the opposite of vasoconstriction, or the narrowing of blood vessels. When vessels dilate, the flow of blood is increased, peripheral activators
• Affecting blood pressure Blood pressure is a force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. During each heartbeat, BP varies between a maximum (systolic) and a minimum (diastolic) pressure. The mean BP, due to pumping by the heart and resistance in blood vessels, decreases as the circulating blood moves away from (antihypertensive drugs): ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, α blockers
• Coagulation: anticoagulants, heparin, antiplatelet drugs, fibrinolytics, anti-hemophilic factors, haemostatic drugs
• Atherosclerosis/cholesterol inhibitors: hypolipidaemic agents, statins.

For the central nervous system

Drugs affecting the central nervous system include: hypnotics, anaesthetics, antipsychotics, antidepressants (including tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, lithium salts, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)), antiemetics, anticonvulsants/antiepileptics, anxiolytics, barbiturates, movement disorder (e.g., Parkinson's disease) drugs, stimulants (including amphetamines), benzodiazepines, cyclopyrrolones, dopamine antagonists, antihistamines, cholinergics, anticholinergics, emetics, cannabinoids, and 5-HT (serotonin) antagonists.

For pain & consciousness (analgesic drugs)

The main classes of painkillers are NSAIDs, opioids and various orphans such as paracetamol, tricyclic antidepressants and anticonvulsants.

For musculo-skeletal disorders

The main categories of drugs for musculoskeletal disorders are: NSAIDs (including COX-2 selective inhibitors), muscle relaxants, neuromuscular drugs, and anticholinesterases.

For the eye

• General: adrenergic neurone blocker, astringent, ocular lubricant
• Diagnostic: topical anesthetics, sympathomimetics, parasympatholytics, mydriatics, cycloplegics
• Anti-bacterial: antibiotics, topical antibiotics, sulfa drugs, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones
• Antiviral drug:
• Anti-fungal: imidazoles, polyenes
• Anti-inflammatory: NSAIDs, corticosteroids
• Anti-allergy: mast cell inhibitors
• Anti-glaucoma: adrenergic agonists, beta-blockers, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors/hyperosmotics, cholinergics, miotics, parasympathomimetics, prostaglandin agonists/prostaglandin inhibitors. nitroglycerin

For the ear, nose and oropharynx

sympathomimetics, antihistamines, anticholinergics, NSAIDs, steroids, antiseptics, local anesthetics, antifungals, cerumenolyti

For the respiratory system

bronchodilators, NSAIDs, anti-allergics, antitussives, mucolytics, decongestants corticosteroids, Beta2-adrenergic agonists, anticholinergics, steroids

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