pharmaco

Pharmaco is a combining form used in medical and scientific terminology to denote drugs or medicines. It derives from the Greek pharmakon, meaning drug, remedy, or poison, and has given rise to a family of terms in pharmacology, pharmacy and related disciplines.

In modern English, pharmaco- appears as a prefix or stem in many compound terms such as pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacogenomics, pharmacovigilance, pharmacoeconomics, pharmacognosy, and pharmacopoeia. Each term describes a different aspect of drug science, from action and processing in the body to the genetics of drug response, safety monitoring, economic evaluation, natural-product drug discovery, and official drug standards.

Pharmacology is the branch that studies the origin, nature, effects, and uses of drugs. Pharmacokinetics focuses on how the body absorbs, distributes, metabolizes, and eliminates drugs. Pharmacodynamics examines the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs and their mechanisms. Pharmacogenomics investigates how genetic variation influences drug response. Pharmacovigilance centers on monitoring and evaluating adverse drug effects and overall safety. Pharmacoeconomics analyzes the economic considerations and value of drug therapies. Pharmacognosy studies medicines derived from natural sources, such as plants and microorganisms. A pharmacopoeia is an official reference work that lists quality standards for medicines and their preparation.

Because pharmaco- is a combining form, it appears primarily within longer terms rather than as a standalone word. It is distinct from the casual term pharma and from other roots like pharmac- that appear in a broader range of scientific terms.