In
pharmacology
Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...
, an adjuvant is a drug or other substance, or a combination of substances, that is used to increase the
efficacy
Efficacy is the ability to perform a task to a satisfactory or expected degree. The word comes from the same roots as ''effectiveness'', and it has often been used synonymously, although in pharmacology a distinction is now often made between ...
or
potency of certain drugs. Specifically, the term can refer to:
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Adjuvant therapy in cancer management
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Analgesic adjuvant in pain management
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Immunologic adjuvant
In immunology, an adjuvant is a substance that increases or modulates the immune response to a vaccine. The word "adjuvant" comes from the Latin word ''adiuvare'', meaning to help or aid. "An immunologic adjuvant is defined as any substance that ...
in vaccines
This is a specialized usage of a word (derived from the Latin verb "adjuvare", ''to help''), which also has a more general meaning as someone or something assisting in any operation or effect.
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Adjuvants