PharmD Summer Academy 2026: Prescriptions & Strength

Vocabulary flashcards covering prescription abbreviations, Sig line interpretation, and expressions of drug strength including percentage and ratio strengths.

PO

By mouth

SL

Sublingual (under tongue)

IV

Intravenous

IM

Intramuscular

SC / SQ

Subcutaneous

PR

Per rectum

Top.

Topical

NG

Nasogastric

OU

Both eyes

OD

Right eye

OS

Left eye

AU

Both ears

AD

Right ear

AS

Left ear

Daily / QD

Once daily

BID

Twice daily

TID

Three times daily

QID

Four times daily

Q4H

Every $4$ hours

Q6H

Every $6$ hours

QAM

Every morning

QHS

Every night at bedtime

PRN

As needed

tab

Tablet

cap

Capsule

sol

Solution

susp

Suspension

gtt(s)

Drop(s)

supp

Suppository

Disp

Dispense (quantity)

NR

No refills

Sig Line Formula

Verb + Amount + Route + Frequency + Duration

Drug Strength

Tells how much active drug is contained in a dosage form

Percent Strength (% w/v)

Grams of solute per $100\,\text{mL}$ of solution; most common form for IV fluids and oral liquids

Percent Strength (% w/w)

Grams of drug per $100\,\text{g}$ of total preparation; used for solids blended into solids (creams and ointments)

Percent Strength (% v/v)

$\text{mL}$ of liquid drug per $100\,\text{mL}$ of total preparation; used for liquid blended into liquid

Ratio Strength

Expresses concentration as 1 part drug : total parts of preparation; often used for very dilute preparations like injectable epinephrine

Normal Saline (0.9% NaCl)

$0.9\,\text{g}$ NaCl per $100\,\text{mL}$ solution

D5W (5% Dextrose)

$5\,\text{g}$ dextrose per $100\,\text{mL}$ solution

Epinephrine 1:1000

$1\,\text{g}$ per $1000\,\text{mL}$, which equals $1\,\text{mg}$ per $1\,\text{mL}$