pharmacology

Part 2 of It’s all in the name! Hope these mnemonics make it easier for you to memorize these medications. ⁠ 💊 Flomax: brand name for tamsulosin, a medication used to treat urinary retention or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Its name tells you that it is used to ‘maximize flow’. ⁠ ⁠ 💊 Lunesta: a sleep aid medication whose root word Luna means moon in Latin. ⁠ ⁠ 💊 Xarelto: brand name for rivaroxaban, an oral anticoagulant. Its name hints at its mechanism of action, inhibiting factor Xa in the clotting cascade. ⁠ ⁠ 💊 Fosamax: brand name for alendronic acid, it is a medication used to treat osteoporosis or bone weakening. Its name means os = bone, and max = great in Latin. ⁠ ⁠ 💊 Prevacid: brand name for lansoprazole, it belongs to a class of proton pump inhibitors. Its name tells you that it ‘prevents acid’ and is used to treat GERD and acid-reflux disorders. ⁠ ⁠ 💊 Glucophage: brand name for metformin. It is a medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. Its name derives from the Greek words gluco= glucose and phage = eat or consume. ⁠This helps you remember metformin’s mechanism of action is to increase uptake of glucose by cells in the body to be used as energy (or in other words increase insulin sensitivity). ⁠