A pill is a small, round, solid pharmacological oral dosage form that was in use before the advent of tablets and capsules. Pills were made by mixing the active ingredients with an excipient such as glucose syrup in a mortar and pestle to form a paste, then rolling the mass into a long cylindrical shape (called a "pipe"), and dividing it into equal portions, which were then rolled into balls, and often coated with sugar to make them more palatable.^[1]

In colloquial usage, tablets, capsules, and caplets are still often referred to as "pills" collectively.

[edit] See also

• Pharmaceutical formulation
• Pill splitting
• Capsule (pharmacy)

[edit] References

1. ^ 1918 US dispensatory article

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pills

• Duke University History of Medicine collections
• Pills and pill-making - Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain

v • d • e Route of administrations / Dosage forms Oral Enteral/ digestive tract Solids Capsule · Pill · Tablet · Orally disintegrating tablet · Film · OROS (osmotic controlled release capsule) Liquids Elixir · Emulsion · Syrup · Suspension · Tincture Respiratory tract Inhaler (Metered-dose, Dry powder) · Nebulizer Circulatory system Sublingual administration Eye/ENT Eye drop · Ear drop · Intranasal Transdermal Emulsion (Ointment · Cream · Lotion · Liniment · Gel · Paste · Film)  · Medicated shampoo · Transdermal implant · Transdermal patch Injection/parenteral Subcutaneous (SC) · Intravenous (IV) · Intramuscular (IM) · Intraosseous · Intraperitoneal (IP) · Intrathecal · Intracavernosal Vaginal Pessary (vaginal suppository) · Vaginal ring · Douche · Intrauterine device Rectal Suppository · Enema

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