| pharmacopoeia | 1. A book or treatise describing the drugs, preparations, etc, used in medicine; especially, one that is issued by official authority and considered as an authoritative standard. 2. A chemical laboratory. Origin: NL, from Gr. The preparation of medicines; medicine + to make. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| pharmacopoeias | Authoritative treatises on drugs and preparations, their description, formulation, analytic composition, physical constants, main chemical properties used in identification, standards for strength, purity, and dosage, chemical tests for determining identity and purity, etc. They are usually published under governmental jurisdiction (e.g., usp, the united states pharmacopoeia; bp, british pharmacopoeia; p. Helv., the swiss pharmacopoeia). They differ from formularies in that they are far more complete: formularies tend to be mere listings of formulas and prescriptions. (12 Dec 1998) |