Drugs

Definitions #

Substances used to diagnose, treat, or prevent disease, or to affect bodily functions; in healthcare, often refers to pharmaceutical products.

Technical Pharmaceutical agents regulated by agencies such as the FDA or EMA, administered for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes, subject to clinical trials and pharmacovigilance.

Example The physician prescribed a course of antiviral drugs for the patient's influenza infection.

Etymology #

From Middle English 'drogges', possibly from Old French 'drogue', meaning a supply or provision; the medical sense developed in the 16th century.

Collocations #

generic drug 非专利药，与品牌药等效且价格较低
prescription drug 处方药，需医生处方才能购买
over-the-counter (OTC) drug 非处方药，无需处方即可购买
drug interaction 药物相互作用，两种或以上药物同时使用时产生的效应变化
adverse drug reaction (ADR) 药品不良反应，使用正常剂量药物时出现的非预期有害反应
investigational drug 研究性药物，尚未获批上市但在临床试验中使用的药物

Real Business Examples #

The hospital pharmacy must verify the patient's drug allergies before dispensing any new medication.
According to the clinical trial protocol, the investigational drug was administered orally once daily for eight weeks.
The pharmacovigilance team reported an increase in adverse drug reactions associated with the new antihypertensive.
The label clearly states that this drug should not be taken with grapefruit juice due to potential drug interactions.

Register & Variants #

Register: neutral
BrE/AmE: 全球通用，英式英语中常用‘medicines’，美式英语中‘drugs’更普遍

Synonyms & Antonyms #

Synonyms: medication, medicine, pharmaceutical, pharmaceutical product

Common Errors #

将‘drug’等同于‘medicine’，但‘drug’也可指非法物质。在医疗语境中，用‘drug’指药物时通常明确为‘pharmaceutical drug’或‘medication’以避免歧义。
混淆‘generic drug’与‘brand-name drug’的等效性。仿制药（generic）在活性成分、剂量、安全性上与原研药等效，但辅料和外观可能不同，需注意患者个体差异。

Confusable Terms #

medicine vs Drugs: ‘Medicine’更强调治疗性药物，也可指医学学科；‘drug’更广泛，包括医用和非法物质。
medication vs Drugs: ‘Medication’通常指具体的用药方案或药物制剂，而‘drug’是更泛的类别。

Frequently Asked Questions

药品和药物的区别是什么？?

在医疗行业，两者常互换，但‘药物’更正式，涵盖更广，包括研究性产品；‘药品’多指定型的产品。

‘Drug’是否总是非法？?

不是。在医疗语境中，‘drug’指合法的药物，如处方药；但非医疗语境中可能指非法物质，需注意上下文。

仿制药是否与品牌药一样有效？?

是的，监管机构要求仿制药在活性成分、剂量和生物等效性上与品牌药一致。

Published: 2026-09-22 Category: