The USAN Nomenclature System

Abstract

THE United States Adopted Names (USAN) Council, sponsored by the American Medical Association, the United States Pharmacopeial Convention, Inc., and the American Pharmaceutical Association, was organized in 1964 to represent the health professions in the selection of appropriate nonproprietary names for drugs.^1,2 The USAN Council was born from a desire of the health professions for more informative, albeit simpler, nonproprietary drug nomenclature. Nonproprietary names had been in existence for numerous years, but it was not until the formation of the USAN Council that this drug nomenclature became truly systematized in the United States. Over the years, the USAN Council has benefited from the experience of its antecedent nomenclature committees and individual sponsors, as well as from the nonproprietary nomenclature committees of the World Health Organization and of other countries. The principles and procedures adopted by the council have been previously reported.^3-5An updated version of the principles appeared