Page 15 - A guide to dosage form 1_full v3

GENERAL UNITS IN PHARMACY

Units are very important in pharmaceutical formulation because it involves many different
measurements and measuring equipments. Hence, a pharmacist should be able to understand,
familiarize and perform unit conversions, and to do it precisely. Inability to do so may be an
inadequacy for a pharmacist to practice, and a careless mistake may cause adverse effect on
patients’ well-being. Therefore, care must be in place when calculating doses and measuring
ingredients for formulations.

METRIC UNITS
METRIC UNIT FOR LENGTH
2
1 m = 100 cm = 10 cm
= 1000 mm = 10 mm
3
6
= 10 µm
9
= 10 nm
1 mm = 1000 µm = 10 µm
3
3
1 µm = 1000 nm = 10 nm

METRIC UNIT FOR MASS
1 kg = 1000 g = 10 g
3
-3
1 g = 10 kg
3
= 1000 mg = 10 mg
= 10 µg
6
9
= 10 ng
3
1 mg = 1000 µg = 10 µg
1 µg = 1000 ng = 10 ng
3

METRIC UNIT FOR VOLUME
1 L = 1000 mL = 10 mL
3
= 10 cc
3
6
= 10 µL
3
1 mL = 1000 µL = 10 µL
= 1 cc = 10 mg
3

US MEASURES (VOLUME)
VOLUME MEASURES
1 fluid ounce (fl oz) = 29.57 mL
1 pint (liq pt) = 473 mL

HOUSEHOLD MEASURES AND METRIC LENGTH
HOUSEHOLD MEASURES
1 foot (ft) = 12 in
1 inch (in) = 2.54 cm
1 meter (m) = 100 cm = 39.4 in
= 3.283 ft
HOUSEHOLD MEASURES AND METRIC VOLUME
HOUSEHOLD MEASURES

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