Health Care - Drugs: prescription and medication
Drugs & Medication
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Health Care - Drugs: prescription and medication
  A
drug is any biological substance, synthetic or
non-synthetic, that is taken for non-dietary needs.
It is usually synthesized outside of an organism,
but introduced into an organism to produce its
action. That is, when taken into the organisms body,
it will produce some effects or alter some bodily
functions (such as relieving symptoms, curing
diseases or used as
preventive medicine or any other purposes).
Note that natural
endogenous biochemicals (such as
hormones) can bind to the same receptor in the cell,
producing the same effect as a drug. Thus, drug is merely an
artificial definition that distinguishes whether that
molecule is synthesized within an organism or outside an
organism. For instance,
insulin is a hormone that is synthesized in the body; it
is considered as a hormone when it is synthesized by the
pancreas inside the body, but if it is introduced into the
body from outside, it is considered as a drug.
It is a substance which is not
food,
and which, when ingested, affects the functioning of the
mind, or the body, or both. However, under the philosophy of
Chinese medicine, food is also considered a drug as it
affects particular parts of body and cures some diseases.
Thus, food does satisfy the above definition of drug
so long as ingestion of it would alter some bodily
functions.
Disclaimers - Medical Disclaimer
by Nicolae Sfetcu and
MultiMedia
This guide is licensed under the
GNU Free Documentation License
Drugs & Medication, made by MultiMedia | Free content and software
This guide is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License
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