What is "aspirin"

Aspirin \As"pi*rin\, n. (Pharm.) A white crystalline compound, acetyl salicylic acid ( CH3.CO.O.C6H4.CO.OH) widely used as a drug for relief of pain and alleviation of fever. It has analgesic, antipyretic, and antiinflammatory properties, and is one of a class of agents called non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The name was originally a trade name, but has become the preferred name for the substance. It is actually a prodrug, liberating salicylic acid, the ultimate pharmacologically active agent, in the intestines. It is more effective when taken orally than is salicylic acid, because it dissolves more readily.

Syn: 2-(acetyloxy)benzoic acid

coined 1899 by German chemist Heinrich Dreser (1860-1924) in German as a trademark name, from Latin Spiraea (ulmaria) "meadow-sweet," the plant in whose flowers or leaves the processed acid in the medicine is naturally found, + common chemical ending -in (see -ine (2)). Spiraea (Tournefort, 1700) is from Latinized form of Greek speiraia "meadow-sweet," so called from the shape of its follicles (see spiral (adj.)). The initial -a- is to acknowledge acetylation; Dreser said the word was a contraction of acetylierte spirsäure, the German name of the acid, which now is obsolete, replaced by salicylic acid.\n\nDie Bezeichnung Aspirin ist abgeleitet aus "Spirsäure" -- alter Name der Salicylsäure und A = Acetyl; statt" Acetylirte Spirsäure, kurzweg "Aspirin".

[H, Dreser, "Pharmakologisches über Aspirin (Acetylsalicylsäure)," in "Archiv für die Gesammte Physiologie des Menschen und der Thiere," 1899, p.307]

n. 1 (context uncountable pharmaceutical drug English) An analgesic drug, acetylsalicylic acid. 2 (context countable English) A tablet containing this substance.

n. the acetylated derivative of salicylic acid; used as an analgesic anti-inflammatory drug (trade names Bayer and Empirin) usually taken in tablet form; used as an antipyretic; slows clotting of the blood by poisoning platelets [syn: acetylsalicylic acid, Bayer, Empirin]

Aspirin is a Persian-language miniseries produced, directed, and written by Farhad Najafi. The series was produced in Iran by Real Move Entertainment, and premiered on 10 September 2015.

The story is a drama about a doctor who performs a strange experiment on one of his male patients.

Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a medication, often used to treat pain, fever, and inflammation. Aspirin is also used long-term, at low doses, to help prevent heart attacks, strokes, and blood clot formation in people at high risk of developing blood clots. Low doses of aspirin may be given immediately after a heart attack to prevent clotting and reduce the risk of another heart attack or the death of heart tissue. Aspirin may be effective at preventing certain types of cancer, particularly colorectal cancer.

The main side effects of aspirin are gastric ulcers, stomach bleeding, and ringing in the ears, especially with higher doses. While daily aspirin can help prevent a clot-related stroke, it may increase risk of a bleeding stroke (hemorrhagic stroke). In children and adolescents, aspirin is not recommended for flu-like symptoms or viral illnesses, because of the risk of Reye's syndrome.

Aspirin is part of a group of medications called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) but differs from most other NSAIDs in the mechanism of action. The salicylates have similar effects (antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic) to the other NSAIDs and inhibit the same enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX), but aspirin does so in an irreversible manner and, unlike others, affects the COX-1 variant more than the COX-2 variant of the enzyme. Aspirin also has an antiplatelet effect by stopping the binding together of platelets.

The therapeutic properties of willow tree bark have been known for at least 2,400 years, with Hippocrates prescribing it for headaches. Salicylic acid, the active ingredient of aspirin, was first isolated from the bark of the willow tree in 1763 by Edward Stone of Wadham College, University of Oxford. Felix Hoffmann, a chemist at Bayer, has been credited with the synthesis of aspirin in 1897, though whether this was of his own initiative or under the direction of Arthur Eichengrün is controversial. Aspirin is one of the most widely used medications in the world with an estimated 40,000 tonnes of it being consumed each year. In countries where "Aspirin" is a registered trademark owned by Bayer, the generic term is acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system. As of 2015 the cost for a typical month of medication in the United States is less than US$25.