Aspirin (USAN United States Adopted Names are unique nonproprietary names assigned to pharmaceuticals marketed in the United States. Each name is assigned by the USAN Council, which is co-sponsored by the American Medical Association , the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA)), also known as acetylsalicylic acid (pronounced /əˌsɛtɪlsælɪˌsɪlɪk ˈæsɪd/, abbreviated ASA), is a salicylate Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid. This colorless crystalline organic acid is widely used in organic synthesis and functions as a plant hormone. It is derived from the metabolism of salicin. In addition to being a compound that is chemically similar to but not identical to the active component of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), it is probably drug A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine, medication or medicament, can be loosely defined as any chemical substance intended for use in the medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease, often used as an analgesic An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain (achieve analgesia). The word analgesic derives from Greek an- ("without") and algos ("pain"). Analgesic drugs act in various ways on the peripheral and central nervous systems; they include paracetamol (para-acetylaminophenol, also known in the US as to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic Antipyretics are drugs that reduce body temperature in situations such as fever. However, they will not affect the normal body temperature if one does not have a fever to reduce fever Fever is a frequent medical sign that describes an increase in internal body temperature to levels above normal. Fever is most accurately characterized as a temporary elevation in the body's thermoregulatory set-point, usually by about 1–2 °C (1.8-3.6 °F), and as an anti-inflammatory Anti-inflammatory refers to the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation. Anti-inflammatory drugs make up about half of analgesics, remedying pain by reducing inflammation as opposed to opioids which affect the central nervous system medication.

Aspirin also has an antiplatelet An antiplatelet drug is a member of a class of pharmaceuticals that decreases platelet aggregation and inhibits thrombus formation. They are effective in the arterial circulation, where anticoagulants have little effect effect by inhibiting the production of thromboxane Thromboxane is a member of the family of lipids known as eicosanoids. The two major thromboxanes are thromboxane A2 and thromboxane B2, which under normal circumstances binds platelet Platelets, or thrombocytes , are small, irregularly-shaped anuclear cells (i.e. cells that do not have a nucleus containing DNA), 2-3 µm in diameter, which are derived from fragmentation of precursor megakaryocytes. The average lifespan of a platelet is between 8 and 12 days. Platelets play a fundamental role in hemostasis and are a natural molecules together to create a patch over damage of the walls within blood vessels. Because the platelet patch can become too large and also block blood flow, locally and downstream, aspirin is also used long-term, at low doses, to help prevent heart attacks Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as a heart attack, is the interruption of blood supply to part of the heart, causing some heart cells to die. This is most commonly due to occlusion (blockage) of a coronary artery following the rupture of a vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque, which is an unstable collection, strokes A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function(s) due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia (lack of glucose & oxygen supply) caused by thrombosis or embolism or due to a hemorrhage. As a result, the affected area of the brain is unable to function, leading to inability to move one or more, and blood clot A thrombus , or blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. It is achieved via the aggregation of platelets that form a platelet plug, and the activation of the humoral coagulation system (i.e. clotting factors). A thrombus is normal in cases of injury, but pathologic in instances of thrombosis formation in people at high risk for developing blood clots.^[1] It has also been established that low doses of aspirin may be given immediately after a heart attack to reduce the risk of another heart attack or of the death of cardiac tissue.^[2][3]

The main undesirable side effects An adverse drug reaction is an expression that describes harm associated with the use of given medications at a normal dose. The meaning of this expression differs from the meaning of "side effect", as this last expression might also imply that the effects can be beneficial. The study of ADRs is the concern of the field known as of aspirin are gastrointestinal The digestive system is the system by which ingested food is acted upon by physical and chemical means to provide the body with nutrients it can absorb and to excrete waste products; in mammals the system includes the alimentary canal extending from the mouth to the anus, and the hormones and enzymes assisting in digestion ulcers A peptic ulcer, also known as ulcus pepticum, PUD or peptic ulcer disease, is an ulcer of an area of the gastrointestinal tract that is usually acidic and thus extremely painful. As many as 80% of ulcers are associated with Helicobacter pylori, a spiral-shaped bacterium that lives in the acidic environment of the stomach, however only 40% of those, stomach bleeding, and tinnitus Tinnitus is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound, especially in higher doses. In children and adolescents, aspirin is no longer used to control flu-like symptoms Influenza-like illness , also known as acute respiratory infection (ARI) and flu-like syndrome, is a medical diagnosis of possible influenza or other illness causing a set of common symptoms, with SARI referring to Severe Acute Respiratory Infection or the symptoms of chickenpox Chickenpox or chicken pox is a highly contagious illness caused by primary infection with varicella zoster virus . It usually starts with vesicular skin rash mainly on the body and head rather than at the periphery and become itchy raw pockmarks which mostly heal without scarring or other viral illnesses, because of the risk of Reye's syndrome Reye's syndrome is a potentially fatal disease that causes numerous detrimental effects to many organs, especially the brain and liver, as well as causing hypoglycemia. The exact cause is unknown, and while it has been associated with aspirin consumption by children with viral illness, it also occurs in the absence of aspirin use.^[4]

Aspirin was the first discovered member of the class of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, usually abbreviated to NSAIDs or NAIDs, are drugs with analgesic, antipyretic and, in higher doses, with anti-inflammatory effects (reducing inflammation). The term "non-steroidal" is used to distinguish these drugs from steroids, which (among a broad range of other effects) have a similar (NSAIDs), not all of which are salicylates, although they all have similar effects and most have inhibition of the enzyme cyclooxygenase Cyclooxygenase is an enzyme (EC 1.14.99.1) that is responsible for formation of important biological mediators called prostanoids, including prostaglandins, prostacyclin and thromboxane. Pharmacological inhibition of COX can provide relief from the symptoms of inflammation and pain. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin and as their mechanism of action Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, usually abbreviated to NSAIDs or NAIDs, are drugs with analgesic, antipyretic and, in higher doses, with anti-inflammatory effects (reducing inflammation). The term "non-steroidal" is used to distinguish these drugs from steroids, which (among a broad range of other effects) have a similar. Today, aspirin is one of the most widely used medications in the world, with an estimated 40,000 tonnes A tonne or metric ton (U.S.), also referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to 1,000 kg or 2,204.62262 lb, or approximately the mass of one cubic metre of water at four degrees Celsius. It is not a unit in the International System of Units (SI), but is accepted for use with the SI. In SI units and prefixes, the tonne is a of it being consumed each year.^[5] In countries where Aspirin is a registered trademark A trademark or trade mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities owned by Bayer Bayer AG (FWB: BAY, TYO: 4863) is a German chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen, Germany in 1863. Today it is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is well-known for its original brand of aspirin. Bayer is the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world, the generic term is acetylsalicylic acid (ASA).^[6][7]

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