Pharmac

Pharmac is a term that historically refers to drugs or the science of drugs. The word derives from the Greek pharmakon, meaning drug, medicine, or poison. In modern English, pharmac is not typically used as a standalone term in medical writing; instead, related forms such as pharmacology, pharmacopoeia, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacotherapeutics are commonly employed.

Pharmacology is the science that examines how drugs interact with living organisms. It includes subfields such as pharmacodynamics, which studies a drug’s effects on the body, and pharmacokinetics, which examines how the body processes a drug through absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. Pharmacology informs therapeutic use, dosing, safety, adverse effects, and potential drug interactions.

Pharmacopoeia refers to an official reference work that lists medicines and substances used in therapy, along with standards for their purity, strength, and quality. These texts support regulatory oversight and the manufacturing quality of pharmaceutical products.

The broader practice related to pharmac includes the discovery, development, testing, and regulation of medicines. This encompasses preclinical research, clinical trials, and regulatory review to establish safety and efficacy before a drug can be marketed.

Today, pharmac is generally encountered as a prefix or historical term rather than as a standalone word. It appears in the names of disciplines and standards (for example, pharmacology and pharmacopoeia) and in compound words describing drug-related concepts. Related terms include pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacotherapy, and toxicology.