Drug, prescription: A drug requiring a prescription, as opposed to an over-the-counter drug, which can be purchased without one. The word "prescription" comes from the Latin "praescriptus" compounded from "prae", before + scribere, to write = to write before. Historically, a prescription was written before the drug was prepared and administered.

A prescription has several parts. There are:

• The superscription (or heading) with the symbol R or Rx which stands for the word Recipe, meaning (in Latin) to take;
• The inscription which contains the names and quantities of the ingredients;
• The subscription or directions for compounding the drug; and
• The signature which is often preceded by the sign s. standing for signa, mark, giving the directions to be marked on the container.

Seen on a prescription, b.i.d. means twice (two times) a day. It is an abbreviation for "bis in die" which in Latin means, not too surprisingly, twice a day. The abbreviation b.i.d. is sometimes written without a period either in lower-case letters as "bid" or in capital letters as "BID". However it is written, it is one of a number of hallowed abbreviations of Latin terms that have been traditionally used in prescriptions to specify the frequency with which medicines should be taken. Other examples include:

• q.d. (qd or QD) is once a day; q.d. stands for "quaque die" (which means, in Latin, once a day).
• t.i.d. (or tid or TID) is three times a day ; t.i.d. stands for "ter in die" (in Latin, 3 times a day).
• q.i.d. (or qid or QID) is four times a day; q.i.d. stands for "quater in die" (in Latin, 4 times a day).
• q_h: If a medicine is to be taken every so-many hours, it is written "q_h"; the "q" standing for "quaque" and the "h" indicating the number of hours. So, for example, "2 caps q4h" means "Take 2 capsules every 4 hours."

How to Order  |  Price List  |  Refill Orders
Home  |  About Us  |  Contact Us  |  FAQ

Buy cheap canadian prescriptions from a Canadian Internet Pharmacy leader. cheap online pharmacy canadian pharmacy prescription drugs online discount medicine pharmacies online mail order prescription medication canadian online pharmacy search for online drugs canada pharmacies discount canadian medication drugstore Plavix Fosamax Lipitor Celebrex Actonel Flomax Glucophage Premarin Prevacid Evista .