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Pill Identifier


BULLET
The shape of a cylinder when viewing the capsule from a point perpendicular to its longest side, with a point at one end. The bullet shape is synonymous with torpedo shape Pill Images

CAPSULE
The shape of a capsule when viewing the capsule from a point perpendicular to its longest side. The capsule shape is reserved for two-part capsules and banded two-part capsules. Tablets with a capsule shape or a one part capsules (e.g., soft gelatin capsules that are filled with a liquid) should be classified under OVAL. Pill Images

CLOVER
The stylized shape, of clover, having three or four leaves with or without the stem. Pill Images

DIAMOND
The shape has four distinct sides making a parallelogram with two inner obtuse angles and two inner acute angles. A square with diagonal imprinting is not a diamond, but rather, a square. See also SQUARE. Pill Images

DOUBLE CIRCLE
The shape of two circles joined together, and usually overlapping. Pill Images

FREEFORM
The shape does not have 3 or more distinct sides and is not one of the listed shapes. Examples include, but are not limited to, airplane, apple, cartoon characters, heart, kidney, shield, and train shapes. Pill Images

GEAR
The two dimensional shape of a toothed wheel of a machine part. Pill Images

HEPTAGON (7 sided)
The shape has seven distinct sides. The sides may be straight or slightly curved. It can either be regular (interior angles are equal and its sides are equal in length) or irregular (interior angles are not equal and/or its sides are not equal in length). Pill Images

HEXAGON (6 sided)
The shape has six distinct sides. The sides may be straight or slightly curved. It can either be regular (interior angles are equal and its sides are equal in length) or irregular (interior angles are not equal and/or its sides are not equal in length). Pill Images

OCTAGON (8 sided)
The shape has eight distinct sides. The sides may be straight or slightly curved. It can either be regular (interior angles are equal and its sides are equal in length) or irregular (interior angles are not equal and/or its sides are not equal in length). Pill Images

OVAL
The shape of either an oval or an ellipse. See also TEAR. Pill Images

PENTAGON (5 sided)
The shape has five distinct sides. The sides may be straight or slightly curved. It can either be regular (interior angles are equal and its sides are equal in length) or irregular (interior angles are not equal and/or its sides are not equal in length). Pill Images

RECTANGLE
The shape has four distinct sides and four right angles but is not a square. Pill Images

ROUND
The shape of a circle.  Spherical shapes are called round because their two dimensional projections are round. Pill Images

SEMI-CIRCLE
The shape of half of a circle or half of an oval. This shape is also used for shapes similar to the letter D or the letter U. Any letter D or U that is either embossed or debossed onto the surface of a dosage form is not used in determining the shape of that dosage form. Pill Images

SQUARE
The shape has four distinct and equal sides with four right angles. The sides may be straight or slightly curved. A square tilted at a 45 degree angle so that the diagonals run vertical and horizontal is not a diamond, but rather, a square. See also DIAMOND. Pill Images

TEAR
The stylized shape of a tear or drop of water. It differs from an oval because one end is clearly larger than the other. It is synonymous with the shapes egg, pear, and almond. See also oval. Pill Images

TRAPEZOID
The shape has four distinct sides. The sides may be straight or slightly curved. Only two of the sides are parallel. Pill Images

TRIANGLE
The shape has three distinct sides. The sides may be straight or slightly curved. It can either be regular (interior angles are equal and its sides are equal in length) or irregular (interior angles are not equal and/or its sides are not equal in length). Pill Images

General Information