Another great way of understanding and memorizing the use and function of medication is to know its generic name stem. Usually, drugs of the same therapeutic class are given names with the same stem. These stems are mostly placed word-finally (suffix), but in some cases, word-initial (prefix) stems are also used.
Stems are useful for making communication of drugs more precise to avoid prescribing errors. Having an unambiguous standard of names for each drug is important because a drug may be sold by many different brand names, or a branded medication may contain more than one drug.
The hyphens indicate the position of the stem, prefix, infix or suffix, within the INN. In the event that the hyphen is absent, the stem may be used in any position within the name.
Below is a cheat sheet table that has three columns: Drug Stem, Drug Class, and an Example. Each stem has hyphens at one or both ends of its text to show that it is found at the beginning, end, or in the middle of the generic name. You can also download the cheat sheet below.
Common Drug Stems Cheat Sheet
| Drug Stem | Drug Class and/or Stem Explanation |
Examples |
|---|---|---|
| –alol | Combined alpha and beta blockers | labetalol, medroxalol |
| –andr– | Androgens | nandrolone |
| –anserin | Serotonin 5–HT(sub)2 receptor antagonists | altanserin, tropanserin, altanserin |
| –arabine | Antineoplastics (arabinofuranosyl derivatives) | fludarabine |
| –ase | Enzymes | alglucerase, dornase alfa |
| –azepam | Antianxiety agents (diazepam type) | lorazepam |
| –azosin | Antihypertensives (prazosin type) | doxazosin |
| –bactam | Beta–lactamase inhibitors | sulbactam |
| –bamate | Tranquilizers/antiepileptics | meprobamate, felbamate |
| –barb | Barbituric acid derivatives | phenobarbital |
| –butazone | Anti–inflammatory analgesics (phenylbutazone type) | mofebutazone |
| –caine | Local anesthetics | dibucaine |
| cef– | Cephalosporins | cefazolin |
| –cillin | Penicillins | ampicillin |
| –conazole | Antifungals (miconazole type) | fluconazole, oxiconazole |
| –cort– | Cortisone derivatives | hydrocortisone |
| –curium | Neuromuscular blocking agents | atracurium |
| –cycline | Antibiotics (tetracycline type) | minocycline |
| –dralazine | Antihypertensives (hydrazine–phthalazines) | hydralazine |
| –erg– | Ergot alkaloid derivatives | pergolide |
| estr– | Estrogens | estrone |
| –fibrate | Antihyperlipidemics | bezafibrate |
| –flurane | Inhalation anesthetics | enflurane, isoflurane |
| –gest– | Progestins | megestrol |
| –irudin | Anticoagulants | desirudin |
| –leukin | Interleukin–2 derivatives | teceleukin, aldesleukin |
| –lukast | Leukotriene antagonists | montelukast, zafirlukast |
| –mab | Monoclonal antibodies | capromab, daclizumab, detumomab, |
| –mantadine | Antivirals | rimantadine |
| –monam | Monobactam antibiotics | gloximonam |
| –mustine | Antineoplastics | carmustine |
| –mycin | Antibiotics (streptomyces strains) | lincomycin |
| –olol | Beta–blockers (propranolol type) | timolol, atenolol |
| –olone | Steroids (no prednisone derivatives) | minaxolone |
| –oxacin | Antibiotics (quinolone derivatives) | difloxacin, ciprofloxacin |
| –pamide | Diuretics (sulfamoylbenzoic acid derivatives) | adipamide |
| –pamil | Coronary vasodilators | tiapamil |
| –parin | Heparin derivatives and low molecular weight (or depolymerized) heparins | heparin, tinzaparin, dalteparin |
| –peridol | Antipsychotics (haloperidol type) | haloperidol |
| –poetin | Erythropoietins | epoetin alfa, epoetin beta |
| –pramine | Antidepressants (imipramine type) | lofepramine |
| –pred | Prednisone derivatives | prednicarbate, cloprednol |
| –pril | Antihypertensives (ACE inhibitors) | enalapril, temocapril, spirapril |
| –profen | Anti–inflammatory/analgesic agents (ibuprofen type) | flurbiprofen |
| –rubicin | Antineoplastic antibiotics (daunorubicin type) | epirubicin, idarubicin |
| –sartan | Angiotensin II receptor antagonists | losartan, eprosartan |
| –sulfa | Antibiotics (sulfonamide derivatives) | sulfasalazine |
| –thiazide | Diuretics (thiazide derivatives) | chlorothiazide |
| –tocin | Oxytocin derivatives | oxytocin, pitocin |
| –trexate | Antimetabolites (folic acid derivatives) | methotrexate |
| –triptyline | Antidepressants | amitriptyline |
| -uracil | Uracil derivatives used as thyroid antagonists and as antineoplastics | fluorouracil |
| –vastatin | Antihyperlipidemics (HMG–CoA inhibitors) | lovastatin, simvastatin |
| vir-, -vir- or -vir | Antiviral substances (undefined group) | viroxime, envirodyne, ganciclovir |
Thank you so much! :) This will be helpful to my upcoming NCLEX exam. :)
Thank you for your great work.
Where did the printable cheat sheets go?
I can’t download anymore??