Prescription

A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or device for a patient.

A prescription has several parts.

They include the superscription or heading with the symbol 'R' or 'Rx', which stands for the word recipe (meaning, in Latin, to take); the inscription, which contains the names and quantities of the ingredients; the subscription or directions for compounding the drug; and the signature which is often preceded by the sign 's' standing for signa (Latin for mark), giving the directions to be marked on the container