At the Chemist’s

Chemist's shop (a pharmacy in Great Britain, a drug store in the USA) is an institution of health service. It supplies the population with medicines and medical things. It is a place where a wide variety of articles is sold and prescription can be made; drugs are dispensed, stored and sold. There are different types of chemist’s: municipal, public, private. Each chemist's shop has a chemist's department and a prescription one. All medicines are kept in drug cabinets, open shelves and refrigerators at a chemist’s.

At the chemist's department a person buys drugs ready to use, different things for medical care and medi­cal herbs.

Poisonous, drastic, narcotic and psychotropic drugs are sold by prescription only at the prescription department. These drugs are potent and can be dangerous if taken in an overdose. Therefore, their use is strictly controlled.

Every small bottle, a tube or a box of medicine has a label on it. White labels indicate drugs for internal use, yellow ones indicate drugs for external use and blue ones indicate drugs used for injections. The dose to be taken and the directions for the administration are also indicated on a label. Besides, all containers of dispensed medicines have the following particulars: name of the patient, name of the medicine, correct dosage instructions, date of dispensing, expiry date, warnings or contraindications, name and address of the pharmacy. It prevents confusing different remedies, some of which are poisonous. Their overdosage may cause unfavourable reactions and sometimes even death.

The structure of a complete prescription includes six essential parts: the patient's name, the superscription (i.e. the traditional symbol Rx at the beginning of the prescription), the inscription (i.e. the body of the prescription containing the ingredients and their quantities), the subscription (i.e. prescriber’s instructions to the pharmacist), the signature (i.e. directions to the patient) and the prescriber's name.

In continental Europe, prescriptions are written out in Latin abbreviations. The only exception is the signature. That is why European medical schools require two years of Latin as part of the curriculum for medical doctors and pharmacists. In Great Britain, all prescriptions are written out in English to avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding that might lead to serious consequences.

Exercise 6. Answer the questions:

1. What is a chemist's shop?

2. What departments are there at every chemist’s?

3. What can a person buy at the chemist’s department?

4. What can a person buy at the prescription department?

5. Where are all the drugs kept at the chemist's?

6. Why are some drugs sold by prescription only?

7. What are the necessary particulars on the label?

8. What does the complete prescription consist of?

Exercise 7. Match the terms with their explanations:

Exercise 8. Find the English equivalents to the following word-combinations in the text:

Забезпечувати населення ліками; виготовляти, зберігати та продавати ліки; відділ продажу готових ліків; рецептурний відділ; зберігати у шафах для ліків та відкритих полицях; отруйні та сильнодіючі ліки; суворо контролювати; викликати несприятливі реакції; дата виготовлення та термін зберігання; протипоказання та побічні дії; виникати внаслідок передозування; призводити до серйозних наслідків.

Exercise 9. Replace the words in bold type with their equivalents from the texts above:

1. Any medicine should be taken according to the prescription.

2. A chemist’s provides people with medicines.

3. The body of the prescription includes the ingredients of a drug.

4. The drugs are kept in drug cabinets.

5. An excessive intake of drugs leads to bad results.

6. Toxic drugs are sold by prescription only.

7. Some additional effects appear when taking these pills.

8. To escape double meaning the British don’t use Latin abbreviations.

Exercise 10. Insert the preposition where necessary:

1. You can find this drug … the chemist’s over there.

2. The prescription is written … in Latin.

3. Overdosage causes … serious consequences.

4. I was … a sick-leave twice last year.

5. I keep all the medicines … a small drug cabinet.

6. This procedure consists … listening … the patient’s heart and lungs.

7. Depending … the weather, we’ll either go … the polyclinic or call … a doctor.

8. World Health Organisation supplies … people … the information about epidemics.

Exercise 11. Read and translate the sentences. Define the tense and voice of the predicate. Make the sentences negative and interrogative:

Model:

A chemist’s provides us with medicines and things for care. (provides – Present Simple Active)

A chemist’s doesn’t provide us with medicines and things for care.

Does a chemist’s provide us with medicines and things for care?

1. I completed this project a week ago.

2. His diagnosis is confirmed by X-ray.

3. The course of the disease seems mild.

4. Every human needs vitamins and minerals.

5. Drastic drugs are sold by prescription only.

6. They will use the new method in their research.

7. The findings of blood analysis will be made in an hour.

8. The structure of the human body was described by A.Vesalius.

Exercise 12. Find and translate the sentences in Passive Voice only:

1. A nurse fills in the patient’s cards.

2. Some drugs are made from plants.

3. A nurse looks after the patients.

4. We were examined at the clinic yesterday.

5. The patients’ tests are taken every morning.

6. The electrocardiograms were taken yesterday.

7. The infection diseases can pass through the mouth and nose.

8. The patients are not allowed to take the medicines themselves.

Exercise 13. Change sentences from Active into Passive:

Model:

The doctor will examine you in a minute. – You will be examined by the doctor in a minute.

1. A. Fleming discovered penicillin by chance.

2. The surgeon operated on the patient successfully.

3. Students study basic theoretical subjects in the first term.

4. Scientists introduced new methods of treatment of cancer.

5. The district doctor will prescribe you the proper treatment.

6. The doctor made a correct diagnosis after the physical examination.

7. The doctor will discharge the patient from the hospital in two days.

8. The nurse on duty usually takes the patients to different procedures.

Exercise 14. Re-write sentences opening brackets:

1. These drugs (to sell) yesterday.

2. A complete prescription (to consist) of six essential parts.

3. The daily dosage (to indicate) always on the label of the medicine.

4. In the future, sale of potent drugs (to control) much more strictly.

5. The prescriber's name (to guarantee) the authenticity of the drug.

6. Yesterday, before taking the pills she (to read) the package insert.

7. Drastic medicines (to cause) such side effects as nauseas and dizziness.

8. If expiry date of a remedy is over, a pharmacist immediately (to write) it off.

Exercise 15. Put questions to the underlined words:

1. Latin is the language of prescriptions.

2. There are two departments at any chemist’s.

3. The use of potent drugs is strictly controlled.

4. The physician prescribed him mild laxatives.

5. A chemist’s supplies population with medicines.

6. In Britain prescriptions are written out in English only.

7. They will take into consideration all the doctor’s administration.

8. The pharmacist instructed the patient about the medication’s side effects.

Exercise 16. Translate sentences into English:

1.Всі рецепти виписують латинською.

2. Rx – латинський символ, який означає «рецепт».

3. В цій аптеці ліки виготовляються за рецептом.

4. Повна структура рецепту включає шість складових частин.

5. Саме аптеки забезпечують населення ліками та іншими медичними речами.

6. Фармацевти зберігають ліки в аптечних шафах, на відкритих полицях чи в холодильниках.

7. Виготовляючи ліки, фармацевти мають бути особливо уважними, що уникнути помилок.

8.Цей препарат – сильнодіючий; у надмірній дозі він може призвести до несприятливих наслідків.

Exercise 17. Describe the notion “chemist’s” using the following table:

Завдання для самостійної роботи студентів (СРС)

Exercise 1. Topic Vocabulary:

Exercise 2. Read the word combinations with the new words and translate them into Ukrainian:

Nutrient: nutrient medium; nutrient absorption; nutrient excess; intravenous nutrient; nutrient-enriched food.

Exception: without exception; an exception to the rule; as an exception; make an exception; be no exception.

Compound: acid compound; iodine compound; oxygenated compound; low molecular weight compound.

Carbohydrate: carbohydrate balance; carbohydrate diet; carbohydrate metabolism; complex carbohydrates; organic chemical compound.

Exercise 3. Form nouns with the help of the following suffixes, translate them into Ukrainian:

-ance(-ence): perform, assist, differ, maintain, appear, occur, disturb, resist

-ion: except, reflect, direct, ingest, suggest, collect, infect, solute, combine

Exercise 4. Read and translate the following word combinations:

Organic compound, sufficient quantity, single exception, essential nutrients, fatty acid, amino acid, water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins, be stored in the fatty tissue, ingest frequently, excreted through the urine, diverse biochemical functions, maintain body tissues, immune system’s performance, outer cell membrane, deficiency disease, vitamin poisoning.

Exercise 5. Read and translate the text: