medicine, medication, medicament, medicinal drug

something that treats or prevents or alleviates the symptoms of disease

• acyclovir, Zovirax — an oral antiviral drug (trade name Zovirax) used to treat genital herpes; does not cure the disease but relieves the symptoms
• allopurinol, Zyloprim — a drug (trade name Zyloprim) used to treat gout and other conditions in which there is an excessive buildup of uric acid
• amrinone, Inocor — a drug (trade name Inocor) used intravenously in heart failure; increases strength of contraction of myocardium
• analgesic, anodyne, painkiller, pain pill — a medicine used in to relieve pain
• angiogenesis inhibitor — a drug that is designed to prevent the growth of blood vessels that nourish tumors
• antiarrhythmic, antiarrhythmic drug, antiarrhythmic medication — a drug used to treat an abnormal heart rhythm
• antibacterial, antibacterial drug, bactericide — any drug that destroys bacteria or inhibits their growth
• anticholinergic, anticholinergic drug — a substance that opposes or blocks the action of acetylcholine
• anticholinesterase — a medicine that inhibits cholinesterase by combining with it and so has a cholinergic effect
• anticoagulant, anticoagulant medication, decoagulant — medicine that prevents or retards the clotting of blood
• anticonvulsant, anticonvulsant drug, antiepileptic, antiepileptic drug — a drug used to treat or prevent convulsions (as in epilepsy)
• antidepressant, antidepressant drug — any of a class of drugs used to treat depression; often have undesirable side effects
• antidiabetic, antidiabetic drug — a drug used to treat diabetes mellitus
• antidiarrheal, antidiarrheal drug — a drug used to control or stop diarrhea
• antidiuretic, antidiuretic drug — a drug that limits the formation of urine
• antiemetic, antiemetic drug — a drug that prevents or alleviates nausea and vomiting
• antihistamine — a medicine used to treat allergies and hypersensitive reactions and colds; works by counteracting the effects of histamine on a receptor site
• antihypertensive, antihypertensive drug — a drug that reduces high blood pressure
• anti-inflammatory, anti-inflammatory drug — a medicine intended to reduce inflammation
• antiprotozoal, antiprotozoal drug — a medicinal drug used to fight diseases (like malaria) that are caused by protozoa
• antipyretic, febrifuge — any medicine that lowers body temperature to prevent or alleviate fever
• antiseptic — a substance that destroys micro-organisms that carry disease without harming body tissues
• antispasmodic, spasmolytic, antispasmodic agent — a drug used to relieve or prevent spasms (especially of the smooth muscles)
• antitussive — any medicine used to suppress or relieve coughing
• antiviral, antiviral agent — any drug that destroys viruses
• APC — a drug combination found in some over-the-counter headache remedies (Aspirin and Phenacetin and Caffeine)
• astringent, astringent drug, styptic — a drug that causes contraction of body tissues and canals
• atomic cocktail — an oral dose of radioactive substance used in treatment and diagnosis of cancer
• azathioprine, Imuran — an immunosuppressive drug (trade name Imuran) used to prevent rejection of a transplanted organ
• azidothymidine, AZT, zidovudine — an antiviral drug used in the treatment of AIDS; adverse side effects include liver damage and suppression of the bone marrow
• blocker, blocking agent — a class of drugs that inhibit (block) some biological process
• bronchodilator — a drug that relaxes and dilates the bronchial passageways and improves the passages of air into the lungs
• calcium blocker, calcium-channel blocker — any of a class of drugs that block the flow of the electrolyte calcium (either in nerve cell conduction or smooth muscle contraction (of the heart)); has been used in the treatment of angina or arrhythmia or hypertension or migraine
• carminative — medication that prevents the formation of gas in the alimentary tract or eases its passing
• clofibrate, Atromid-S — a drug (trade name Atromid-S) that reduces lipids in the blood serum; used to treat some cardiovascular diseases
• cold medicine — medicine intended to relieve the symptoms of the common cold
• counterirritant — a medicine applied locally to produce superficial inflammation in order to reduce deeper inflammation
• cytotoxic drug — any drug that has a toxic effect on cells; commonly used in chemotherapy to inhibit the proliferation of cancerous cells
• decongestant — a drug that decreases pulmonary congestion
• demulcent — a medication (in the form of an oil or salve etc.) that soothes inflamed or injured skin
• diaphoretic — used to produce perspiration
• disulfiram, Antabuse — a drug (trade name Antabuse) used in the treatment of alcoholism; causes nausea and vomiting if alcohol is ingested
• dose — a measured portion of medicine taken at any one time
• Drixoral — the trade name for a drug used to treat upper respirator congestion; it contains an antihistamine and a bronchodilator and a vasoconstrictor
• expectorant, expectorator — a medicine promoting expectoration
• fixed-combination drug — drug containing fixed amounts of two or more ingredients
• gemfibrozil, Lopid — medication (trade name Lopid) used to lower the levels of triglyceride in the blood
• hematinic, haematinic — a medicine that increases the hemoglobin content of the blood; used to treat iron-deficiency anemia
• histamine blocker — a medicine used to treat the gastric effects of histamine in cases of peptic ulcers and gastritis and gastroesophageal reflux; works by blocking the effects of histamine on the receptor site known as H2
• immunosuppressant, immunosuppressive drug, immune suppressant drug — a drug that lowers the body's normal immune response
• inhalant, inhalation — a medication to be taken by inhaling it
• isoproterenol, Isuprel — drug (trade name Isuprel) used to treat bronchial asthma and to stimulate the heart
• isosorbide, Isordil — drug (trade name Isordil) used to treat angina pectoris and congestive heart failure
• lipid-lowering medicine, lipid-lowering medication, statin drug, statin — a medicine that lowers blood cholesterol levels by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase
• methacholine, Mecholyl — parasympathomimetic drug (trademark Mecholyl) that stimulates secretions and smooth muscle activity
• nux vomica — a medicine made from the seeds of an Asiatic tree; contains strychnine and brucine; formerly used as a stimulant
• over-the-counter drug, over-the-counter medicine — a drug that is sold without a prescription
• oxytocic, oxytocic drug — a drug that induces labor by stimulating contractions of the muscles of the uterus
• paregoric, camphorated tincture of opium — medicine used to treat diarrhea
• patent medicine — medicine that is protected by a patent and available without a doctor's prescription
• penicillamine, Cuprimine — a drug (trade name Cuprimine) used to treat heavy metal poisoning and Wilson's disease and severe arthritis
• pentylenetetrazol, pentamethylenetetrazol, Metrazol — a drug used as a circulatory and respiratory stimulant; larger doses cause convulsions in shock therapy; Metrazol is a trademark
• pharmaceutical — drug or medicine that is prepared or dispensed in pharmacies and used in medical treatment
• placebo — an innocuous or inert medication; given as a pacifier or to the control group in experiments on the efficacy of a drug
• powder — any of various cosmetic or medical preparations dispensed in the form of a powder
• prescription drug, prescription, prescription medicine, ethical drug — a drug that is available only with written instructions from a doctor or dentist to a pharmacist
• probenecid — drug that reduces the level of uric acid in the blood; used to treat gout
• purgative, cathartic, physic, aperient — a purging medicine; stimulates evacuation of the bowels
• remedy, curative, cure — a medicine or therapy that cures disease or relieve pain
• rubefacient — a medicine for external application that produces redness of the skin
• sedative, sedative drug, depressant, downer — a drug that reduces excitability and calms a person
• soothing syrup — medicine in the form of a syrup that has a calming effect
• specific — a medicine that has a mitigating effect on a specific disease
• sucralfate, Carafate — medicine consisting of a tablet (trade name Carafate) used to treat peptic ulcers; said to bind to the ulcer site and coat it
• suppository — a small plug of medication designed for insertion into the rectum or vagina where it melts
• tincture — (pharmacology) a medicine consisting of an extract in an alcohol solution
• tonic, restorative — a medicine that strengthens and invigorates
• tyrosine kinase inhibitor — a drug used in cases of chronic myeloid leukemia
• vermicide — an agent that kills worms (especially those in the intestines)
• vermifuge, anthelmintic, anthelminthic, helminthic — a medication capable of causing the evacuation of parasitic intestinal worms

• drug — a substance that is used as a medicine or narcotic

• physostigmine — used in treatment of Alzheimer's disease and glaucoma