BASIC PRINCIPLES OF

COMPOUNDING AND
DISPENSING
CONTENTS:
Weights, measures and units.
Calculations for compounding and dispensing.
Fundamental operations in compounding.
Containers and closures for dispensed products.
Handling and parts of prescriptions.
Labeling of dispensed medicine.
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lecture students will be able to:
Define metric system and SI unit.
List down different SI Units.
Describe the standard prefixes for SI Units.
List down the units of mass (weights),amount of
substance, capacity ( volume),concentrations, length,
radiation.
WEIGHT,MEASURES
AND UNITS
DEFINITION:
A system of measurement is a set of units which can be
used to specify anything which can be measured.
METRIC SYSTEM:
The metric system, including the metre, was first fully
described by Englishman John Wilkins in 1668.
Metric systems of units have evolved since the adoption of the
first well-defined system in France in 1795.
In the early metric system there were two fundamental or base
units, the metre for length and the gram for mass.
Cont………………
A number of variations on the metric system have been in use.
These include:
 MTS
 MNS
Gravitational systems
CGS
MKS (MKSC & MKSA) systems
 INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF
UNIT:
The current international standard metric system is the
International System of Units (was developed in 1960). It
is an MKS system based on the metre, kilogram and
second as well as the kelvin, ampere, candela, and mole.
Cont……..
The SI includes two classes of units:
the seven SI base units for length, mass, time,
temperature, electric current, luminous intensity and
amount of substance.
The second of these are the SI derived units. All other
quantities (e.g. work, force, power) are expressed in terms
of SI derived units
 SI UNITS
Name Unit symbol Quantity Symbol
metre m length l
kilogram kg mass m
second s time t
ampere A electric current I
kelvin K thermodynamic temperature T
candela cd luminous intensity Iv
mole mol amount of substance n
Standard prefixes for the SI units of
measure
Name deca- hecto- kilo- mega- giga- tera- peta- exa- zetta- yotta-

Symbol da h k M G T P E Z Y

0 1 2 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
Factor 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Cont………
Name deci- centi- milli- micro- nano- pico- femto- atto- zepto- yocto-

Symbol d c m μ n p f a z y

0 −1 −2 −3 −6 −9 −12 −15 −18 −21 −24

Factor 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
 UNITS OF MASS (WEIGHT)
NAME ABBREVIATION EQUIVALENT
1 Kilogram Kg 1000 g
1 gram g 1000 mg
1 milligram mg 1000 mcg
1 microgram mcg 1000 ng
1 nanogram ng 1000 pg
 UNITS OF CAPACITY

NAME ABBREVIATION EQUIVALENT

1 litre l 1000 ml
1 millilitre ml 1000 µl
1 microlitre µl 1/1000 ml
 UNITS OF CONCENTRATION
MASS CONCENTRATION:
g per l

AMOUNT OF SUBSTANCE CONCENTRATION:

mol per l
 UNITS OF LENGTH

NAME ABBREVIATION EQUIVALENT

1centimeter cm 1000 mm
1 millimeter mm 1000 µm
1 micrometer µm 1000 nm
SOME OTHER UNITS
Unit of radioactive source:
Curie

Unit of ionizing radiation:

Gray
 THANX FOR ATTENTION
REFERENCES:
 Pharmaceutical practice
DM Collette
Pg # 11 - 12