WHO naming stem · prefix · 9 listed names
mer-/-mer
mercury-containing drugs, antimicrobial or diuretic (deleted from General Principles in List 28 prop. INN)
Where it sits in a name
WHO writes the stem as mer-/-mer. It has 2 spellings or places: mer at the start of the name (mer…); mer at the end of the name (…mer).
Of the 9 names WHO lists under it, 9 carry mer at the start of the name.
All 9 names WHO lists under mer-/-mer
These are the INN in group (a) of Part IV of the stem book: names in which WHO says the stem is used as defined. The stem is marked where WHO places it. A-Z as WHO lists them.
- meralein sodium
- meralluride
- merbromin
- mercaptomerin
- mercuderamide
- mercumatilin sodium
- mercurobutol
- mercurophylline
- mersalyl
Decode another name
Decoded
mersalyl
Listed INNCarries 2 WHO stems, most specific first: mer-/-mer …
- mer-/-merstart of the nameWHO lists it hereWHO definition: mercury-containing drugs, antimicrobial or diuretic (deleted from General Principles in List 28 prop. INN)
- salinside the nameWHO lists it hereWHO definition: salicylic acid derivatives
“mersalyl” is an INN that WHO lists under mer-/-mer, sal in the 2024 stem book.
The same decoder as the front page: it reads the letters of a name against all 482 WHO stems, in your browser.
Source and licence
The definition of mer-/-mer (Part II B) and the 9 names (Part IV, group (a)) are from Use of stems in the selection of International Nonproprietary Names (INN) for pharmaceutical substances, 2024 (World Health Organization, Stem book 2024 (ISBN 978-92-4-009938-8); covers proposed INN Lists 1-129). Checked .
Adapted from: Use of stems in the selection of International Nonproprietary Names (INN) for pharmaceutical substances, 2024. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. This adaptation was not created by WHO; WHO is not responsible for its content or accuracy and does not endorse this site. The data file stems.json is shared under the same licence.