therapeutic index

American

noun

Pharmacology.

the ratio between the dosage of a drug that causes a lethal effect and the dosage that causes a therapeutic effect.

Etymology

Origin of therapeutic index

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

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therapeutic index

The difference between a concentration in which the drug inhibits the virus target and a concentration in which it hurts the human proteins is called the therapeutic index.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 29, 2020

The therapeutic index gives you the window in which the drug will be effective against the virus without causing undue side effects.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 29, 2020

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023