India and Pharmacy Education: Chapter: 12
Beside the different topics discussed in the previous chapter, the Subject of Pharmaceutics-I in the first semester deals with?prescriptions.
A?prescription? is written by a medico (physician, dentist, or any other medical practitioner) and is meant for dispensing a specific medication to an individual patient.
Prescription
It consists of the instructions for the pharmacist in case of compounding medicine. Such instructions are obsolete now as almost all the medicines are ready to be dispensed in the allopathic system of medicine.
Prescription also contains the commands or information regarding the mode, time, and frequency of medication. Any special instructions or precautions regarding drug-drug interactions or food-drug interactions are also mentioned.
?A student is also given knowledge about pharmaceutical calculations. An understanding of different weight systems is a prerequisite prior to these calculations.
There exist two systems of measurement.
Imperial system: It further consists of Apothecaries system?with pound as standard unit and avoirdupois system which has grain as standard unit.
Imperial system is however not in practice. Calculation methods are taught and students are trained in practical classes as well.
Solid dosage: These forms, including single doses (tablets, capsules), and multidoses (powders, insufflations), are covered in the syllabus.
Solid dosage forms meant to be inserted into body cavities such as suppositories (rectal, vaginal, uretheral, nasal ) are also covered and formulated in the laboratory.
Formulation and preparation of various monophasic liquid dosage forms, including internal (syrups, elixirs) and external (lotions, liniments, paints) are studied in detail.
Similarly, biphasic dosage forms such as suspensions and emulsions are taught. Emulsions are biphasic dosage forms stabilized by emulsifying agents.
Emulsifiers or emulsifying agents is a big class of excipients with varied properties and added as per the requirement of final product.
A basic understanding of various dosage forms is really wonderful for a student who steps into the field of pharmacy.
Pharmaceutics subjects taught in higher classes shall be dealt in next chapter.
To be continued……. India and Pharmacy Education: Chapter: 13
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Author is Associate Professor at Lloyd Institute of Management and Technology (Pharm.) Greater Noida, India
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