PTCB Study Guide: Roots

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<b>Recognizing Generic Drug Names by Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes:</b>
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Memorizing the top 200 drug names is one of the most challenging parts of studying for the
PTCB of ExCPT exams.
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In generic names, there are several prefix, root and suffixes that will help you to remember what the medication does.
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The chart below lists some of the prefix, root and suffixes you will see when studying the top 200 drugs.
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A prefix is placed at the beginning of a word to modify or change its meaning to "before." A Root is the central part of a word. Suffix is the ending part of a word that modifies the meaning of the word. Example: homeless. Root = 'home' and the suffix is 'less'.<br />
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<table style="width: 100%;"><tbody>
<tr>
    <td><b>Prefix, Root, Suffix</b></td>
    <td><b>Drug Class</b></td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-artan</td>
    <td>A2RB (Angiotensin 2 receptor blocker)</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-asone</td>
    <td>Corticosteroid</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-azosin</td>
    <td>Alpha Blocker</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-bital</td>
    <td>Barbiturate (sedative)</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-caine</td>
    <td>Local Anesthetic</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-cillin</td>
    <td>Penicillin Antibiotic</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-cort-</td>
    <td>Corticosteroid</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-cycline</td>
    <td>Tetracycline Antibiotic</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-dipine</td>
    <td>Calcium Channel Blocker</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-floxacin</td>
    <td>Fluoroquinolone Antibiotic</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-itidine</td>
    <td>H2Antagonist</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-lax</td>
    <td>Laxative</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-mycin</td>
    <td>Antibiotic; Antibacterial</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-nazole</td>
    <td>Antifungal</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-olol</td>
    <td>Beta Blocker</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-pril</td>
    <td>Ace Inhibitor Angiotensin (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme)</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-pam</td>
    <td>Benzodiazepines (Benzos)</td>  
  </tr>
<tr><td>-profen</td>
    <td>NSAID</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>pred-</td>
    <td>corticosteroid</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-razole</td>
    <td>PPI = Proton Pump Inhibitor</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-romycin</td>
    <td>Macrolide Antibiotic</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-semide</td>
    <td>Loop Diuretic (water pill)</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-statin</td>
    <td>Cholesterol (HG CoA Reductase Inhibitor)</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-thiazide</td>
    <td>Thiazide Diuretic (water pill)</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-vir</td>
    <td>Anti-Viral</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-zodone</td>
    <td>Antidepressant</td>  
  </tr>
<tr>
    <td>-zolam</td>
    <td>Benzodiazepines (Benzos)</td>  
  </tr>
</tbody><tbody></tbody></table>
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Unfortunately, only a fraction of the top 200 drugs end in a common Generic Drug suffix. However, learning them may help you immensely to memorize the top 200 drugs.
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<a href="http://druginfo.nlm.nih.gov/drugportal/jsp/drugportal/DrugNameGenericStems.jsp" target="_blank">There are plenty more</a> common suffixes and prefixes in generic drug names. The above list is geared to apply to the Top 200 Drug name suffixes.

Generic Medication Prefixes, Roots, & Suffixes Chart

Recognizing Generic Drug Names by Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes: Memorizing the top 200 drug names is one of the most challenging parts ...