Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Full name: United States Pharmacopeia and National Formulary (USP-NF). An official publication, issued first by the American Pharmaceutical Association and now yearly by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention, that gives the composition, description, method of preparation, and dosage for drugs. The book contains two separate official compendia — the USP and the NF. The United States Pharmacopeia (USP), established…

The area of the upper throat that lies behind the nose. In contrast to the oropharynx, the area of the throat that lies behind the mouth. The word “nasopharynx” is a hybrid — part Latin, part Greek. “Naso-” is a prefix that has to do with the nose. It comes from the Latin “nasus” for…

A tube that is passed through the nose and down through the nasopharynx and esophagus into the stomach. Abbreviated NG tube. It is a flexible tube made of rubber or plastic, and it has bidirectional potential. It can be used to remove the contents of the stomach, including air, to decompress the stomach, or to remove small solid objects and fluid,…

Prefix referring to the nose, as in nasogastric tube (a tube that is passed through the nose and to the stomach).

Benign growths that originate in the mucous membranes lining the nasal passages or paranasal sinuses. Polyps are believed to arise in the nasal mucosa as a result of chronic inflammation. Up to 4% of adults have nasal polyps; they can also occur in children, particularly those with chronic respiratory conditions such as cystic fibrosis. Symptoms include postnasal drainage, snoring, headaches, sinusitis, and a reduced sense of smell and taste.…

A channel for airflow through the nose. The walls of the nasal passages are coated with respiratory mucous membranes, which contain innumerable tiny hair-like cells that move waves of mucus toward the throat. Dust, bacteria, and other particles inhaled from the air are trapped by the mucus in the nose, carried back, swallowed, and dropped into the gastric juices so that…

Having to do with the nose.

1. A drug that causes insensibility or stupor. A narcotic induces narcosis, from the Greek “narke” for “numbness or torpor.”2. A drug such as marijuana which is subject to regulatory restrictions comparable to those for addictive narcotics.

Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that is marked by the recurrent, sudden, uncontrollable compulsion to sleep. Narcolepsy is often associated with cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone and paralysis of voluntary muscles associated with a strong emotion), sleep paralysis (immobility of the body that occurs in the transition from sleep to wakefulness), hypnagogic hallucinations (pre-sleep dreams), and automatic behaviors (such as doing something ‘automatically’ and not remembering afterward how…

A drug that antagonizes morphine and other opiates. Naloxone is a pure opiate antagonist and prevents or reverses the effects of opioids including respiratory depression, sedation and hypotension. Sold under the brand name of Narcan and in combination with buprenorphine as Suboxone.