Drugs, Drugs, and More Drugs

As a fourth semester medical student, one of the classes I am taking is Pharmacology. It is such a practical and useful class, and one that teaches the large overarching concepts of how medicines work and why we dose the way we dose, as well as the small, nitty-gritty, yet practical details of pharmacological agents. We learn different treatment plans for illnesses like diabetes, as well as when drugs are contraindicated and why. It’s a multidisciplinary class that integrates everything we’ve learned in previous semesters – pathology, biochemistry, genetics, immunology, biostats – because all of these factors must be taken into consideration when prescribing medication to a patient. It’s definitely a class that trains me to think like a doctor. Despite the subject being so fascinating, and taught by a really awesome professor, the class is quite the challenge, and notorious for this. I never understood why this was so until this past block when we started taking the course. To show you what I mean, here are the drugs we learned just over the past 3 weeks:

  1. Acetylcholine
  2. Carbachol
  3. Methacholine
  4. Bethanechol
  5. Cevimeline
  6. Pilocarpine
  7. Edrophonium
  8. Neostigmine
  9. Physostigmine
  10. Pyridostigmine
  11. Tacrine
  12. Ambenonium
  13. Demecarium
  14. Verenicline (Chantix)
  15. Parathion
  16. Malathion
  17. Diazinon
  18. Soman
  19. Sarin
  20. Tabun
  21. Pralidoxime (PAM)
  22. Atropine
  23. Scopolamine
  24. Ipratropium
  25. Trihexyphenidyl
  26. Benztropine
  27. Glycopyrrolate
  28. Dicyclomine
  29. Cyclopentolate
  30. Tropicamide
  31. Oxybutynin
  32. Tolterodine
  33. Darifenacin
  34. Imipramine
  35. Chlorpromazine
  36. Diphenhydramine
  37. Botox
  38. Cocaine
  39. Imipramine
  40. Reserpine
  41. Amphetamine
  42. Ephedrine
  43. Phenelzine
  44. Tranylcypromine
  45. Selegiline
  46. Rasagiline
  47. Tolcapone
  48. Entacapone
  49. L-Dopa
  50. Metyrosine
  51. Bretylium
  52. Guanethidine
  53. Phenylephrine
  54. Mephenteramine
  55. Methoxamine
  56. Clonidine
  57. Alpha-methyldopa
  58. Isoproterenol
  59. Dobutamine
  60. Terbutaline
  61. Albuterol
  62. Formoterol
  63. Salmeterol
  64. Ritodrine
  65. Metaproterenol
  66. Fenoldopam
  67. Epinephrine
  68. Norepinephrine
  69. Isoprenaline
  70. Dopamine
  71. Phenoxybenzamine
  72. Phentolamine
  73. Tolazoline
  74. Prazosin
  75. Terazosin
  76. Doxazosin
  77. Tamsulosin
  78. Yohimbine
  79. Propranolol
  80. Nadolol
  81. Timolol
  82. Pindolol
  83. Labetolol
  84. Carvedilol
  85. Atenolol
  86. Metoprolol
  87. Esmolol
  88. Betaxolol
  89. Acebutolol
  90. Pancuronium
  91. Pipecuronium
  92. Vecuronium
  93. Rocuronium
  94. Cisatracurium
  95. Mivacurium
  96. Succinylcholine (Suxamethonium)
  97. Dantrolene
  98. Methocarbamol
  99. Chlorzoxazone
  100. Diazepam
  101. Baclofen
  102. Tizanidine
  103. Mecamylamine
  104. Trimethaphan
  105. Hexamethonium (HXM)
  106. Sermorelin
  107. Protirelin
  108. Corticorelin
  109. Gonadorelin
  110. Leuprolide
  111. Nafarelin
  112. Ganirelix
  113. Cetrorelix
  114. Octreotide (Sandostatin)
  115. Cosyntropin
  116. Somatropin
  117. Somatrem
  118. Mecasermin
  119. Pegvisomant (Somavert)
  120. Cabergoline
  121. Bromocriptine
  122. Urofollitropin/Follitropin
  123. Menotropin (hMG)
  124. hChorionic Gonadotropin (hCG)
  125. Atosiban (Tractocile)
  126. Desmopressin (DDAVP)
  127. Conivaptan
  128. Tolvaptan
  129. NSAIDS, Carbamazepine, Chlorpropamide
  130. Demeclocycline
  131. Lithium
  132. Amiloride
  133. Thiazide
  134. Indomethacin
  135. Bovine Insulin
  136. Porcine Insulin
  137. Human insulin
  138. Zinc and protamine
  139. Insulin Lispro
  140. Insulin Aspart
  141. Insulin Glulisine
  142. Insulin Regular/Crystalline Zinc
  143. Insulin Isophane/NPH (Neutral Protamine Hagedorn) Insulin
  144. Insulin glargine
  145. Insulin detemir
  146. Tolbutamide
  147. Chlorpropamide
  148. Tolazamide
  149. Glyburide/Glibenclamide
  150. Glipizide
  151. Glimepiride
  152. Meglitinides (Repaglinide)
  153. Nateglinide
  154. Metformin
  155. Phenformin
  156. Pioglitazone
  157. Rosiglitazone
  158. Acarbose
  159. Miglitol
  160. Pramlintide
  161. Exenatide
  162. Sitagliptin
  163. Glucagon
  164. Hydrocortisone (cortisol), cortisone
  165. Prednisone, Prednisolone, Methylprednisolone
  166. Triamcinolone
  167. Fluticasone
  168. Betamethasone
  169. Dexamethasone
  170. Beclomethasone
  171. Budesonide
  172. Fludrocortisone
  173. Ketoconazole
  174. Aminoglutethimide
  175. Metyrapone
  176. Aminoglutethimide
  177. Mifepristone (RU-486)
  178. Mitotane
  179. Spironolactone
  180. Eplerenone