Name Stems
Drugs from the same therapeutic or chemical class are usually given names with the same stem. Stems are mostly placed word-finally, but in some cases word-initial stems are used. They are collected in a publication informally known as the Stem Book.
Examples are:
- -coxib for COX-2 inhibitors, a type of anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g. celecoxib)
- -mab for monoclonal antibodies (e.g. infliximab); see Nomenclature of monoclonal antibodies
- -olol for beta blockers (e.g. atenolol)
- -oxetine for fluoxetine derivatives, a group of antidepressants
- -pril for ACE inhibitors (e.g. captopril)
- -vastatin for HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, a group of cholesterol lowering agents (e.g. simvastatin)
- io- for iodine containing radiopharmaceuticals (e.g. iobenguane)
Read more about this topic: International Nonproprietary Name
Famous quotes containing the word stems:
“One who pressed forward incessantly and never rested from his labors, who grew fast and made infinite demands on life, would always find himself in a new country or wilderness, and surrounded by the raw material of life. He would be climbing over the prostrate stems of primitive forest-trees.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“A passion for politics stems usually from an insatiable need, either for power, or for friendship and adulation, or a combination of both.”
—Fawn M. Brodie (1915–1981)