INTERNATIONAL
SYSTEM OF UNITS
Prepared by: Mary Blessa M. Sabate, RPh
Upon successful completion of this chapter, the
student will be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of the International System of Units.
Convert measures within the International System of Units.
State equivalent measures between the International System of Units and
other systems of measure used in pharmacy practice.
Convert measures between the International System of Units and other
systems of measure used in pharmacy.
Apply the International System of Units correctly in calculations.
The International System of Units (SI), formerly called the metric
system, is the internationally recognized decimal system of weights and
measures.
Each table of the SI contains a definitive, or primary, unit. For length,
the primary unit is the meter; for volume, the liter; and for weight, the
gram (although technically the kilogram is considered the historic base
unit).
The standard subdivisions and multiples of the primary units are termed
denominations, and the number used in conjunction with a
denomination is termed a denominate number. For example, in 5
milligrams, 5 is the denominate number and milligrams is the
denomination. The short forms for SI units (such as cm, for centimeter)
are termed symbols, not abbreviations.
Guidelines for the correct use of SI:
The following are select guidelines for the correct use of the SI from the U.S. Metric
Association, with additional considerations relevant to the practice of pharmacy:
Unit names and symbols generally are not capitalized except when used at the
beginning of a sentence or in headings. However, the symbol for liter (L) may be
capitalized or not. Examples: 4 L or 4l, 4 mm, and 4g; not 4 Mm and 4G.
In the United States, the decimal marker (or decimal point) is placed on the line
with the denomination and denominate number; however, in some countries, a
comma or a raised dot is used. Examples: 4.5 mL (U.S.); 4,5 mL or 4⋅5 mL (non-U.S.).
Periods are not used following SI symbols except at the end of a sentence.
Examples: 4 mL and 4g, not 4 mL. and 4 g.
A compound unit that is a ratio or quotient of two units is indicated by a solidus
(/) or a negative exponent. Examples: 5 mL/h or 5 mL⋅, not 5 mL per hour.
Symbols should not be combined with spelled-out terms in the same expression.
Examples: 3 mg/mL, not 3 mg/milliliter.
Plurals of unit names, when spelled out, have an added s. Symbols for units,
however, are the same in singular and plural.
Examples: 5 milliliters or 5 mL, not 5 mLs.
Two symbols exist for microgram:
mcg (often used in pharmacy practice) and g (SI).
The symbol for square meter is ; for cubic centimeter, ; and so forth. In
pharmacy practice, is considered equivalent to milliliter.
The symbol cc, for cubic centimeter, is not an accepted SI symbol.
Decimal fractions are used, not common fractions.
Examples: 5.25 g, not 5 g.
A zero should be placed in front of a leading decimal point to prevent medication
errors caused by uncertain decimal points. Example: 0.5 g, not .5 g. It is critically
important for pharmacists to recognize that a misplaced or misread decimal point
can lead to an error in calculation or in dispensing of a minimum of one tenth or
ten times the desired quantity.
To prevent mis-readings and medication errors, ‘‘trailing’’ zeros should not be
placed following a whole number on prescriptions and medication orders.
Example: 5mg, not 5.0mg.
However, in some tables (such as those of the SI in this chapter), pharmaceutical
formulas, and quantitative results, trailing zeros often are used to indicate
exactness to a specific number of decimal places.
In selecting symbols of unit dimensions, the choice generally is based on selecting
the unit that will result in a numeric value between 1 and 1000.
Examples: 500 g, rather than 0.5 kg; 1.96 kg, rather than 1960 g;
and 750 mL, rather than 0.75 L.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION OF
THE SI IN PHARMACY
Although some remnants of the common systems of measurement in
pharmacy remain, the use of the SI is nearly total.
The system is used to manufacture and label pharmaceutical products (Fig.
2.1); write, fill, and compound prescriptions and institutional medication
orders; dose patients; express clinical laboratory test results; and
communicate both verbally and through scientific and professional literature.
In the large-scale manufacture of dosage forms, pharmaceutical ingredients
are measured in kilogram and kiloliter quantities. In the community and
institutional pharmacy, compounding and dispensing in milligram, gram, and
milliliter quantities are more common.
Drug doses are typically administered in milligram or microgram amounts
and prepared in solid dosage forms, such as tablets or capsules, or in a
stated volume of a liquid preparation, such as an oral solution (e.g., 30
mg/5 mL) or injection (e.g., 2 mg/mL).
Doses for certain drugs are calculated on the basis of body weight and
expressed as mg/kg, meaning a certain number of milligrams of drug per
kilogram of body weight. Clinical laboratory values are in metric units and
expressed, for example, as mg/dL, meaning milligrams of drug per deciliter of
body fluid (such as blood).
MEASURE OF LENGTH
The meter is the primary unit of length in the SI The table of metric
length:
1 kilometer (km) = 1000.000 meters
1 hectometer (hm) = 100.000 meters 1 meter (m)
1 dekameter (dam) = 10.000 meters
1decimeter(dm) = 0.100meter
1centimeter(cm) = 0.010meter
1millimeter(mm) = 0.001meter
1micrometer(m) = 0.000,001meter
1nanometer(nm) = 0.000,000,001meter
The table may also be written:
1 meter = 0.001kilometer
= 0.01hectometer
= 0.1dekameter
= 10decimeters
= 100centimeters
= 1000millimeters
= 1,000,000micrometers
= 1,000,000,000nanometers
Equivalencies of the most common length denominations:
1000millimeters(mm) = 100centimeters(cm)
100centimeters(cm) = 1meter(m)
A ruler calibrated in millimeter and centimeter units is shown in Figure 2.3.
• It should be noted that for micrograms, the
abbreviation mcg and the symbol ug are both used
in this text.
• Although the symbol g is used at present in The
United States Pharmacopeia—National Formulary,
the abbreviation mcg is widely used in
pharmaceutical package labeling and in prescription
writing.
• The term gamma, symbolized by γ , is customarily
used for microgram in biochemical literature.
Reducing SI Units to Lower or Higher Denominations by Using a
Unit-Position Scale
The metric system is based on the decimal system; therefore, conversion from one
denomination to another can be done simply by moving the decimal point as
demonstrated in Figure 2.5.
To change a metric denomination to the next smaller denomination, move the
decimal point one place to the right.
To change a metric denomination to the next larger denomination, move the
decimal point one place to the left.
Examples:
In the first example, 1.23 kg are to be converted to
Reduce 1.23 kilograms to grams. grams. On the scale, the gram position is three
decimal positions from the kilogram position.
1.23 kg = 1230 g, answer.
Thus, the decimal point is moved three places
toward the right.
In the second example, the conversion from
Reduce 9876 milligrams to grams.
milligrams also requires the movement of the
9876 mg = 9.876 g, answer. decimal point three places, but this time to the left.
3-DECIMAL POINT SHIFT
In pharmacy practice, and health care in general, the denominations most used
differ by 1000 or by a factor of 3 decimal places.
Thus, on the decimal scale (Fig. 2.5), a 3-place decimal point shift, left to right or
right to left, will yield most commonly used denominations.
3-Place Shift for Common Weight Denominations:
kilograms (kg) __ __ __ grams (g) __ __ __ milligrams (mg) __ __ __ micrograms (mcg)
3-Place Shift for Common Volume Denominations:
liters (L) __ __ __ milliliters (mL)
Reducing SI Units to Lower or Higher
Denominations by Ratio and Proportion or
by Dimensional Analysis
EXAMPLES:
Reduce 1.23 kilograms to grams.
From the table: 1 kg 1000 g
MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION
Because every measurement in the SI is expressed in a single given
denomination, problems involving multiplication and division are solved by
the methods used for any decimal numbers.
Examples:
Multiply 820 mL by 12.5 and express the result in liters.
820 mL x 12.5 =10250 mL =10.25 L, answer.
Divide 0.465 g by 15 and express the result in milligrams.
0.465 g ÷ 15 = 0.031 g = 31 mg, answer.
RELATION OF THE SI TO OTHER
SYSTEMS OF MEASUREMENT
In addition to the International System of Units, the pharmacy student should be
aware of two other systems of measurement: the avoirdupois and apothecaries’
systems.
The avoirdupois system, widely used in the United States in measuring body
weight and in selling goods by the ounce or pound, is slowly giving way to the
international system.
The apothecaries’ system, once the predominant pharmacist’s system of
volumetric and weight measure, has also largely been replaced by the SI.
The pharmacist must still appreciate the relationship between the various systems
of measurement, however, and deal effectively with them as the need arises.
The example equivalents presented in Table 2.3 are useful in gaining perspective
and in solving certain problems in the text—for example, when there is need to
convert fluidounces to milliliters or kilograms to pounds. These equivalents should
be committed to memory.
PRACTICE PROBLEMS:
1. Add 0.5 kg, 50 mg, and 2.5 dg. Reduce the result to grams.
2. 2. Add 7.25 L and 875 cL. Reduce the result to milliliters.
3. 3. Add 0.0025 kg, 1750 mg, 2.25 g, and 825,000 g, and express the answer
in grams.
MEMORIZE TABLE 4.2
SELECTED ABBREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS AND SYMBOLS
USED IN PRESCRIPTIONS AND MEDICATION ORDERS
