醫學文獻的翻譯極具嚴謹性、客觀性，語言的規范性和準確性，醫學翻譯具有鮮明的特點，對翻譯人員的要求較高，翻譯人員除了掌握扎實的英語語言基礎和醫學專業知識以外，還必須熟悉翻譯理論和技巧。
Drug Action
When drugs are ingested or administered into the body, they are absorbed into the bloodstream or into the body tissues. The drugs then combine with, or alter, the molecules in the body cells, changing the way the cells work. How the drugs produce these changes within the body is known as drug action.
The following terms describe the action and interaction of drugs in the body after they have been absorbed into the bloodstream:
Additive Action. The combination of two similar drugs is equal to the sum of the effects of each. For example, if drug A gives 10 per cent tumor kill as a chemotherapeutic agent and drug B gives 20 per cent tumor kill, using A and B together would give 30 per cent tumor kill.
Cumulative Action. After administration of certain drugs, concentrations of the drug or its toxic effect on tissue may increase with each dose. The drug dose may have to be reduced to prevent accumulation to toxic concentrations.
Idiosyncrasy. This is any unexpected effect that may appear in the patient following administration of a drug. Idiosyncratic reactions are produced in very few patients but may be life- threatening in those few instances. For example, in some individuals penicillin is known to cause an idiosyncratic reaction such as anaphylaxis (acute type of hypersensitivity, including asthma and shock).
Synergism (Potentiation). A combination of two drugs can sometimes cause an effect that is greater than the sum of the individual effects of each drug given alone. For example, penicillin and streptomycin, two antibiotic drugs, are given together in treatment for bacterial endocarditis because of their synergistic effect. Tolerance. The effects of a given dose diminish as treatment goes on, and larger doses must be given to maintain the desired effect. Tolerance is a feature of addiction to drugs such as morphine and merperdine hydrochloride (Demerol).
藥物的作用
當藥物攝入或施用于體內時，它們會被血流或機體組織所吸收。然后藥物與機體細胞分子結合或將改變，從而改變細胞的工作方式。藥物作用指的是：藥物是如何在體內引起這些變化的。
下面這些術語描述藥物被吸收進入血流后在體內產生的作用和藥物的相互作用。
相加作用：兩種相似藥物的合用，其效果等于兩種藥的藥效之和。例如，如果化療藥A有10％的腫瘤殺傷力，而化療藥B有20％的腫瘤殺傷力，合用A和B就會有30％的腫瘤殺傷力。
累積作用：服用某種藥物后，這種藥物的濃度或毒效會隨每次用藥而增加。必須減少藥的劑量以防止積累成有毒溶度。
特異反應：這是病人服藥后出現的一種意外反應。特異反應僅出現在極少數的病人身上，盡管是極少數，但出現了就可能會威脅生命。例如，在某些人身上，青霉素可引起如過敏性（急性過敏癥包括哮喘、休克）一類的特異反應，這已廣為人知。
增效作用（增強作用）：有時，兩藥合用所起的作用比分別單用其中一種時的藥效總和大。例如，青霉素和鏈霉素，因增效作用，可合在一起用于治療心內膜炎。
耐受性：隨著治療的進行，持續應用同樣劑量的藥物而藥效逐漸降低，必須增大藥量才能保持應有的藥效。耐受性是一種對嗎啡、哌替啶之類藥物的成癮性。
