Pharmacy technician (PTCE, ExCPT)
Top 200 drugs: flash cards by body system
Choose a deck, read the generic name, try to recall the brand, class and use, then turn the card. Nothing you do here leaves this browser.
Known in this deck
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Names and classes from RxNorm and RxClass (National Library of Medicine), read on October 26, 2026.
The "top 200 drugs" is the list of medicines a pharmacy technician meets most often at the counter, and knowing them is the core of the medications domain of both national exams: the PTCE outline asks for generic and brand names, therapeutic classes and indications, and the ExCPT test plan has a domain on drugs and drug therapy. There is no official top 200: each list is a selection of commonly dispensed outpatient drugs. Ours has 200 generics chosen by us, grouped into decks by body system, from heart and blood pressure to mental health and infections. For each generic, the brand name shown is one that the US National Library of Medicine's RxNorm database lists for it, and the class is the FDA Established Pharmacologic Class found in DailyMed labels through RxClass, both public domain and read on October 26, 2026. The common use is written by us in a few words. The cards train recall; the quiz below them and the separate drug quiz test it.
PTCE · practice
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| Study target: 4 of 5 (80%), not the official passing score |
Practice questions written by Radif Partners from the public outline; not questions from the real exam. Progress stays in this browser.
Questions, formats and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Fourteen drugs you will see again and again
| Generic | Brand | FDA class | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|
| atorvastatin | Lipitor | HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitor | Cholesterol |
| lisinopril | Zestril | Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitor | Blood pressure |
| metformin | Glucophage | Biguanide | Diabetes |
| amlodipine | Norvasc | Dihydropyridine Calcium Channel Blocker | Blood pressure |
| metoprolol | Lopressor | beta-Adrenergic Blocker | Heart and blood pressure |
| omeprazole | Prilosec | Proton Pump Inhibitor | Stomach acid |
| losartan | Cozaar | Angiotensin 2 Receptor Blocker | Blood pressure |
| sertraline | Zoloft | Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor | Depression and anxiety |
| montelukast | Singulair | Leukotriene Receptor Antagonist | Asthma and allergy |
| furosemide | Lasix | Loop Diuretic | Fluid and heart failure |
| clopidogrel | Plavix | P2Y12 Platelet Inhibitor | Clot prevention |
| warfarin | Coumadin | Vitamin K Antagonist | Clot prevention |
| alprazolam | Xanax | Benzodiazepine | Anxiety |
| tamsulosin | Flomax | alpha-Adrenergic Blocker | Prostate |
These come from the most crowded decks: blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, stomach acid and mood. Several share a class, and the class often shows in the name: the statins end in -vastatin, the ACE inhibitors in -pril, the angiotensin receptor blockers in -sartan. The drug suffix page works on those stems.
The decks
| Deck | Drugs |
|---|---|
| Mental health | 35 |
| Heart and blood pressure | 31 |
| Pain and inflammation | 22 |
| Infections | 20 |
| Brain and nerves | 18 |
| Diabetes and thyroid | 14 |
| Lungs and allergy | 13 |
| Stomach and bowel | 13 |
| Hormones, bones and supplements | 13 |
| Urinary and prostate | 7 |
| Cholesterol | 6 |
| Blood clots | 5 |
| Eyes and skin | 3 |
Mental health and heart drugs make up about a third of the list, which matches what technicians fill most often. Start with them, then move to the smaller decks.
A method that works
- One deck at a time. Choose a deck in the menu and go through it once just reading.
- Recall before you turn. On the second pass, say the brand, class and use aloud before turning the card.
- Group by class. When two drugs share a class, learn them together: what one does, the other does too.
- Test the other way. Once a deck is easy, use the drug quiz, which also asks generic from brand.
What the exams ask about drugs
The PTCE outline puts generic and brand names, classes and indications in its medications domain, along with side effects, interactions, narrow therapeutic index drugs and storage. The ExCPT test plan covers drugs and drug therapy in a smaller domain. The five questions under the cards come from our pool for the medications domain of the PTCE.
The cards are a memory aid for exam practice. They are not a reference for treating anyone: the FDA label in DailyMed and the pharmacist remain the sources for a real prescription.