In pharmacology, the synergy of two drugs acting together is termed what?

The term that describes the phenomenon where two drugs work together to produce a greater effect than the sum of their individual effects is known as potentiation. This means that one drug can enhance the effect of another, leading to an increased overall therapeutic effect. This can be particularly important in pharmacology, as the appropriate use of synergistic drugs can enhance treatment efficacy and allow for lower doses of each individual drug, which may also help to minimize side effects.

In contrast, summation refers to the additive effects where the combined result of two drugs is simply the sum of their individual effects, without the enhanced interaction that characterizes potentiation. Inhibition describes a situation where one drug decreases the effect of another, and affinity refers to the strength of binding between a drug and its receptor, which does not pertain to the interaction effect observed with two different drugs. Thus, the correct terminology to describe the synergistic effect is indeed potentiation.