A branch of pharmacology concerned with the physical characteristics and botanical and animal sources of crude drugs. SYN: pharmaceutical biology. [pharmaco- + G. gnosis, knowledge]
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phar·ma·cog·no·sy .fär-mə-'käg-nə-sē n, pl -sies a branch of pharmacology dealing esp. with the composition, use, and development of medicinal substances of biological origin and esp. medicinal substances obtained from plants
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n.
the knowledge or study of pharmacologically active principles derived from plants.
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phar·ma·cog·no·sy (fahr″mə-kogґnə-se) [pharmaco- + Gr. gnōsis knowledge] the branch of pharmacology that deals with the biological, biochemical, and economic features of natural drugs and their constituents.Medical dictionary. 2011.