text:
Talk:AWK

old discussion
Is "Version 3 UNIX" supposed to be "3rd edition UNIX"? That would be approximately the right time frame, though i would have thought maybe 4th or 5th edition. Adding a date would help too. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stephen Gilbert (talk • contribs) 00:56, 21 August 2001 (UTC)

As I understand it, versions corresponded to software releases, editions corresponded to documentation (manual releases). There wasn't always a one-to-one correspondence to each other. --drj — Preceding unsigned comment added by Drj (talk • contribs) 15:51, 25 February 2002 (UTC)

The naming scheme for UNIX was relatively linear until above Version 7 Unix, which is where major source trees, both inside and outside Bell Labs began to split off.

This UNIX timeline has some excellent linked sources, and names and dates the various Unix versions. http://www.robotwisdom.com/linux/timeline.html

These sources date AWK to January 1979. http://minnie.tuhs.org/UnixTree/V7/

Lent 18:46, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

This article could really do with some simple examples to show the expressive power of the language. IMHO, it's easier than PERL for many simple data manipulation tasks. Any objections? - Steve Donovan — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sdonovan (talk • contribs) 06:34, 24 January 2003 (UTC)

Is awk really feature complete enough to be considered a general purpose programming languagE? I've always considered it more of a text manipulation language. Suppafly 01:47, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * That's what K & R thought at first. But when they saw people using it as a general purpose language, they revised awk (calling it nawk) adding more features and functions. It can be used as a general purpose language. —Pelladon 07:21, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Yes, it is. It particularly excels at text manipulation, but is also a fine tool for other things, and in any case 'text manipulation' covers a lot of territory (the majority of dynamic web content, for example). It's not unusual to find quite large awk programs. - jhd — Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.147.65.102 (talk) 02:01, 7 October 2004 (UTC)

If you are in any doubt, you should look for the first editions of the excellent little books, "Programming Pearls" and "More Programming Pearls" by Jon Bentley which really show what AWK can do in the hands of an expert. -- Derek Ross | Talk 07:18, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

A simple example (about 200 lines) of a fully working tool that also demonstrates AWK is a used for more than text manipulation can be seen in the TLDP web correlator http://www.nyx.net/~sgjoen/webcorr-css which takes in an Apache HTTP Server log and generates an HTML report. I read somewhere that AWK was initially made for database purposes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.164.112.1 (talk) 17:17, 1 July 2005 (UTC)
 * [13 years later...] . o O (How is "turning a log file into an HTML report" not exactly text manipulation? I have to wonder what this IP user imagined HTML documents are made of?) -- FeRDNYC (talk) 13:07, 29 September 2018 (UTC)

Name of the article
Why is this page called "AWK programming language"? I've never seen awk referred to as "AWK", as if it were an acronym (even though I suppose it is). It's always just "awk". Why not change it to "Awk programming language" and chalk up the capital letter to technical restrictions? Makaristos 05:36, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Both capitalized and lower case forms are commonly used. Brian Kerningham seems to prefer AWK. Amnonc 16:27, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Then still, why is it called "AWK programming language" instead of just "AWK"? Also, in the article, both AWK and Awk are used. IMHO, we should stick to one capitalization and only mention the alternative somewhere. Qwertyus 17:06, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

 * No, you're right, Amnonc. Even awk 's own manpage refers to it as the AWK Programming Language. awk, all lowercase letters, is the UNIX program that runs programs in the AWK programming langauge. I stand humbled and corrected, and shall therefore attempt to make this distinction clear, as well as standardize the differing appelations in the article. Makaristos 02:36, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

Add a quick note to say that awk uses "extended regexps" by default while grep/ed/sed have "basic regexps" by default on most (all?) platforms? 70.82.141.92 13:13, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

 * I added a line. If you see other things to be improved, be bold. Thanks, Tom Harrison Talk 14:52, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Warts

 * I added this section as well as the shebang section. Is this too much text and should

the article be split? Lent 16:59, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Criticisms
The whole article seems to be quite a mess, but the "criticisms" section seems to be specially bad. Most items there are either completely POV, factually incorrect, or affect only specific versions of AWK. If no one complains I think I will remove the whole section, I think there are a few bits there that are valid, but they are rather minnor, would need sourcing and can be more easily added afterwards. --Lost Goblin 14:15, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Agree, I was going to suggest the same. Qwertyus 10:53, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

 * I wrote most of it and I am also not quite happy with how it fits in. There is one reason why it might still be justified to keep it: Too many misconceptions about what AWK really is and what it isnt are circulating. Look at the list of topics in this "Editing" section. Someone had doubts that AWK was a "real programming" language. Someone else seriously took Kernighan's AWK web page at Bell Labs for a simple "book advert". As long as such nonsense gets written down here, there must be some place where this nonsense is corrected. Jürgen Kahrs 22:00, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

 * I'm not sure how the current criticisms sections helps there, I think it adds more to the confusion. As no one has objected so far, I'm removing it, if someone likes they can try to come up with something more clear and consistent. --Lost Goblin 01:23, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

Logo
The "official" AWK logo can be found on the cover of the book "The AWK Programming Language". You cam find the cover on Kernighan's "book advert" page. Is this good enough ? Jürgen Kahrs 22:08, 17 June 2006

Requested move
AWK programming language → AWK (programming language) – Conformance with WP naming conventions atanamir

domain specific lang or general purpose?
The domain specific language article lists awk as a dsl. This article is also categorized as a DSL. However, the first line states it's a general purpose language. There should be some clarification on both pages. User:Mahanga 04:32, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

bug in hello world example
the hello world program is incorrect, it is missing an exit command at the end of the begin block, or else program will be waiting indefinitelly for an EOF coming from standard input.

 * No it doesn't, at least not in the variants I use. In the BEGIN-block AWK doesn't do any reading on the input and in the main-block there is no code so it exists immediately. --Marbl3s (talk) 10:23, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Note added 7/4/16: Depends on which version. In "old AWK", the comment is correct. Programs consisting of only a "BEGIN" block would still try to read input. This was fixed in "new AWK" and all subsequent versions. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.190.12.101 (talk) 20:11, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

awka is virtually inexistent
The link to sourceforge is valid, but there is no data/source/etc. to download on the page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.88.202.92 (talk) 13:28, 25 December 2009 (UTC)

who wrote this?
awk programs are NOT pattern-action statements, and that's obvious to anyone that's actually knowledgable about awk

consider this implementation of uniq(1) in awk: $ printf %s\\n a c d c b d | awk '!o[$0]++' a c d b

there's not PATTERN because the the conditional has to do with the value of an associative array, not the result of a regular expression, which is what the article refers to as "patterns"

there's no ACTION because print is the deffaut action —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.36.145.91 (talk) 12:06, 26 February 2011 (UTC)
 * '!o[$0]++' is the pattern. As you said, 'print $0' is the (default) action. The pattern need not necessarily be a regular expression: "Patterns are arbitrary Boolean combinations (with ! || &&) of regular expressions and relational expressions." 70.225.163.47 (talk) 05:14, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

Opening paragraph should clearly state that it is a programming language
The current opening is:
 * "The AWK utility is a data extraction and reporting tool that uses a data-driven scripting language consisting of a set of actions to be taken against textual data (either in files or data streams) for the purpose of producing formatted reports. The language used by awk extensively uses the string datatype, associative arrays (that is, arrays indexed by key strings), and regular expressions."'

That opening paragraph fails to clearly state that AWK is an interpreted programming language. You can further categorise afterwards but I'd like to differentiate it from a photocopier fairly quickly :-) --Paddy (talk) 21:57, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

grepinawk code examples
I think the code examples should use "$@" instead of $*, at least on my machine it allows whitespace in the input files while the other does not. Also, shouldn't the pattern variable be exported in order for it to work? At least that's the case for me, but maybe it works this way for others? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.76.123.142 (talk) 23:40, 30 May 2011 (UTC)

Logos, etc
Some books (O'Reilly for instance) use a drawing of a bird to hint at the contents, the authors of awk and the standards committees do not appear to associate any particular representation, nor is there a suitable trademark to refer to. So AWK's relationship to the bird has the status of a pun. TEDickey (talk) 16:28, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

 * It's more subtle than that. AWK was created in an age when software projects didn't have logos like they do today.  However, the AWK Programming Language book that was published by the authors of the language features the bird on the cover, as does Arnold Robbins' Effective AWK Programming.  These are the two standard references.  The auk bird has a status much like the Perl Camel, and no one will argue that that animal is a pun or "not official", or something. 128.226.130.73 (talk) 21:49, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

Actually, the publisher is Addison Wesley], not "the authors of the language". The images used for those books have restrictions on their reuse because they're used as part of advertising (and this topic wouldn't meet the guidelines for incorporating that material because it is not dealing directly with the book). Introducing yet another image doesn't help the reader, since it doesn't have any relationship to the books. Not all books on awk use that image, e.g,. sed & awk, and this copy of Arnold's book GAWK: Effective AWK Programming. TEDickey (talk) 22:17, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

 * Bossypants, have you read anything I said at all? And have you recently added to any kind of article? 128.226.130.73 (talk) 22:22, 5 September 2012 (UTC)

I've read your edits, which are uncivil, and in other cases are unconstructive. TEDickey (talk) 00:07, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

Piping and redirection
These aren't awk functions; they're specific to the operating system. ____ Kernel.package — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.211.235.93 (talk) 22:00, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

They are awk features, as described in the standard (see http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/awk.html#tag_20_06_13_10). TEDickey (talk) 22:12, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

Damaged sentence in 4th paragraph?
The 4th paragraph contains the following sentence, which does not seem to make sense:

"The power, terseness, and limits of early AWK programs inspired Larry Wall to write Perl just as a new, more powerful POSIX AWK and gawk (GNU AWK) were being defined."

To me it looks as if part of he sentence (after "more powerful": a more powerful what?) got lost by accident. --Rüdiger Kupper (talk) 11:27, 30 July 2013 (UTC)

 * Think it's meant to say that Posix Awk and Gawk are more powerful than regular garden-variety Nawk... AnonMoos (talk) 23:35, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

"replaced by Perl"
Awk has long been superseded for complex programs with many lines, but I think a significant number of people still find it convenient for very small programs (one-liners and such), frequently invoked directly from shell. Awk is also the only general-purpose language in the Posix standard intermediate in capability and power between "sh" and "C"...AnonMoos (talk) 20:41, 18 September 2013 (UTC)

 * I see no WP:RS here or in the topic (Perl isn't going to replace Awk in any of my portable scripts simply because Awk is standard, while Perl is not -- and is unlikely to ever be -- and you're most likely to find support for the statement from people who don't focus on portability) TEDickey (talk) 22:09, 18 September 2013 (UTC)

 * We can recognize that AWK's peak of popularity was probably in the late 1980s or beginning of the 1990s, and that few substantial programming projects are undertaken in AWK, while also recognizing that a significant number of people find AWK convenient for various supplemental purposes, and that it's deeply embedded within widely-adopted standards, and is not going anywhere anytime soon. So I'm not sure that simply saying that it's been "replaced by Perl" is a fair summary... AnonMoos (talk) 17:44, 21 September 2013 (UTC)

 * I generally agree - but finding reliable sources by knowledgeable people is the hard part TEDickey (talk) 18:34, 21 September 2013 (UTC)

Awk was never "superseded" because it was never used for "complex programs". It is used for programs of this scale, which are complex enough, depending on your opinion. Perl competes with Awk for "market share" but so do many others. They all have pros and cons and incredibly some people program in more than one language. Awk could not have peaked in the 80s, prior to the invention of Linux, when it was deployed on millions of installs during the 1990s and 2000s. It's only true for certain people born in certain years ie. I remember when Awk was the new thing, and ignores the bulk of users who experienced Awk for the first time in the 90s and 00s (when the O'Reilly books were published). A check of Stack Exchange and Unix.com shows Awk is as alive and well as ever. A check of Awk development (for GNU) shows it has seen more new features added in the past 4 years than in the prior 15. Comparisons of popularity with Perl are individual opinions, like saying Michael Jackson is hot or not. -- Green  C  20:04, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

awk/nawk aliases
It's common for related packages to have aliases for programs which are similar to those on other systems. That doesn't make them "also known as". Otherwise, we would have "bison, also known as yacc". Anywhere except Wikipedia, that sort of thing would be dismissed immediately. Here, we want a reliable source TEDickey (talk) 01:27, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

Comparison of awk implementations
Currently the article claims mawk is a very fast AWK implementation, but I have a counter example: match execution time grows exponentially on certain regular expressions, when you increase input length For some reason mawk is the default awk interpreter in most Ubuntu Linux variants, but the version of mawk, that is inherited from Debian Linux, is old; it does not contain fixes made by mawk's new maintainer Thomas E. Dickey since 2009. mawk's WWW-site — Preceding unsigned comment added by Selkänahka (talk • contribs) 21:58, 1 September 2015 (UTC)

 * Maybe/maybe not: the drawback to bug-reports is that they are not a reliable source. A review by a knowledgeable reviewer of several implementations would be a reliable source.  The problem with using bug-reports is two-fold: (a) the source is selective (chosen to illustrate a point), and (b) a large percentage of bug-reports simply are invalid, or consist largely of irrelevant information which the developer must study to get useful information.  Thus it requires the knowledgeable review to make it suitable for use in sources. TEDickey (talk) 01:04, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

Linux distribs do not always include gawk...
The line:

[quote] Linux distributions are mostly GNU software, and so they include gawk. [/quote]

is actually not true, although it certainly should be.

Debian-based distros (which is many/most of them) tend to ship with mawk as "awk" and require an explicit "apt-get install" to get GAWK.

Personally, I think this is a shame - because GAWK is so much better - but that is the way that it is. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.190.12.101 (talk) 20:01, 4 July 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Curious forward reference to nothing
In the section on books on awk, it says: "Free download of this manual is possible through the following book references."

But no book references follow! GeneCallahan (talk) 06:19, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

 * Yeah, I don't know what that was about. I thought the few sentences there (which were just tacked on after the Cite book call) might be a quote from the linked source, but they don't appear anywhere there. It appears they were just some notes written by whoever added the book reference. Unnecessary non-sequitur notes, so out they came. -- FeRDNYC (talk) 11:55, 29 September 2018 (UTC)

Unicode
I would like to see something written about unicode support or lack of it. It predates unicode of course, but I haven't researched into this to see if anyone has been able to do anything about it. It seems to me that using UTF8 would not be good at all, with very bad results in some cases, yet fine in others. Could anyone help? CecilWard (talk) 11:37, 17 February 2018 (UTC)

 * Keeping mind the usual guidelines on reliable sources and original research. You may not find much that's useful which meets both of those TEDickey (talk) 13:36, 17 February 2018 (UTC)

 * CecilWard -- I think UTF-8 will pretty much work in gawk internal processing, unless you use as an array index a sequence of characters which contains the defined SUBSEP character. AnonMoos (talk) 15:04, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

 * P.S. Gawk apparently can pay attention to "locale" settings, but this seems to mainly affect the meaning of regexp specifications... AnonMoos (talk) 09:28, 4 October 2018 (UTC)

Match pattern from command line
Do we really need three examples of using Bash + AWK for implementing a single feature in an article devoted to AWK? This is encyclopedia, not StackOverflow or a Linux programming tutorial. A single example without Bash would be sufficient, I think. --Amakuha (talk) 13:33, 24 February 2018 (UTC)

 * That's a plague that has been raging across Wikipedia's computing articles for some time. This isn't even one of the more egregious examples, really. (For my money, this is, in the sense that it shouldn't be an article unto itself at all, but rather should occupy a tiny section of the XRI article.) My personal take is, this article should be shorter by about 2/3, and the "Commands", "Sample Applications", and "Self-contained AWK scripts" sections would be gone entirely, because none of that has anything to do with an encyclopedia.

 * Even though I say that XRDS is one of the more egregious examples (because it shouldn't exist), it does represent a good model for what the AWK article should be. It contains exactly one "Example XRDS document", which is just dumped right in there, all syntax-highlighted, in its entirety. It then proceeds to discuss exactly nothing of the syntax, structure, or purpose. Because, again, encyclopedia.

 * In a similar vein, I feel like there's a need here for exactly one "A simple AWK program" listing, just so the reader can get an idea of what they look like. Perhaps with example input and output to illustrate the purpose, and maybe a broad discussion of what makes up the program listing (pointing out the pattern-action structure). That would also remove the need for the confusing pseudocode in § Structure of AWK programs:

 * (Is it a pattern or a condition or an expression? Why would the article be directly contradictory on that point?)
 * (Is it a pattern or a condition or an expression? Why would the article be directly contradictory on that point?)

 * However, I know that trimming 2/3 of the length out of an article like this will upset far too many people who feel invested in its existing content. Either because they take a blanket "more is better" view of Wikipedia as a whole, or because they feel that an article's length is somehow a reflection of the importance of its topic, and they don't want to see AWK "demoted" by the removal of unnecessary cruft. So, . -- FeRDNYC (talk) 12:46, 29 September 2018 (UTC)

 * FeRDNYC -- XRDS is a "batch" query specification language, and so is a rather different beast from a programming language like AWK.  In the case of an active programming language, there's naturally a tendency to show how it actively does things (thus the traditional "Hello, World!" program).  AWK programs are characteristically often very short ("one-liners"), and AWK has a basic programming model that's rather different from what you see in "C" or Pascal or BASIC, so the use of example programs in the article does not seem excessive to me... AnonMoos (talk) 15:15, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

Trimmed entry for gawk in "Versions and implementations"
The entry for gawk in § Versions and implementations previously contained the following:

It's rare to see such a textbook example of improper WP:SYNTH, but oh man this is some kind of poster child. Let me count the ways:
 * 1) The first sentence: Linux distributions are mostly GNU software, and so they include gawk. It's (a) uncited, (b) not accurate (see Talk:AWK above), and (c) creating causation out of thin air. There's nothing presented to justify either half of the sentence even as simple factual statements, but even if there was it wouldn't support the implied "and so" relationship.
 * 2) The second sentence has two citations.
 * 3) At the second cite, the entirety of anything AWK-related is as follows: The system awk(1) now refers to BWK awk. That's it. Absolutely no reason for the change is given, so it certainly doesn't support the claims made in the article about what those reasons are.
 * 4) The first cite makes no mention of AWK or BWK awk anywhere, because it's a link to the entire document on BSD vs. GPL, from the FreeBSD team no less (an obviously biased source, on that topic).
 * 5) The use of those two citations here is thus an attempt to relitigate the licensing debate on the pages of the AWK article, because nothing presented indicates that licensing had anything to do with the switch from gawk to BWK awk. Again: no reason is ever given!

Is it possible that the reasons given for the FreeBSD switch are accurate? Absolutely. But there's nothing in any of the cited materials that even remotely supports the claims made, so it's pure WP:OR without some relevant citations to back it up.

I've therefore replaced the entire text above with:

because I don't even have a source for that claim handy. -- FeRDNYC (talk) 13:52, 29 September 2018 (UTC)

 * fwiw, the commit-comments in FreeBSD's subversion only hint that there was some problem porting gawk to spark64. There's no bug-report cited in any of that, however.  There might be some mailing-list archive mentioning the issue.  In any case, license didn't appear to be a factor TEDickey (talk) 14:29, 29 September 2018 (UTC)

website property
A link to source-code (no documentation) for a particular implementation is off-topic, since this topic deals with the programming language. For instance, the POSIX description of Awk goes into far more depth than the sketchy manual page on the Github site. TEDickey (talk) 19:42, 24 August 2022 (UTC)

reference to Paul Rubin
Is the Wikipedia reference to Paul Rubin correct? It is incredible that an economist contributed to AWK. Vveckaln (talk) 12:00, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

 * The Paul Rubin who had a large early role in GAWK (not official AWK) was a person involved in the GNU project in the 1980s. You can read a short bio of him here... AnonMoos (talk) 14:49, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

 * then is the hyperlink correct? Vveckaln (talk) 14:54, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

 * You should have been able to easily figure that out on your own. Since the Paul Rubin economist article makes no reference to studying at Berkeley, and his education was over long before 1987, I would say that it is not valid. AnonMoos (talk) 14:57, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

 * So... I removed the Paul Rubin link. MichielN (talk) 11:45, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

persistent memory gawk
gawk 5.2 (released September 2022) includes a persistent memory feature that I believe is worthy of mention. For the basics see "man gawk" in 5.2 or later, or for more detail the pm-gawk user manual, which is included in TeXinfo form in the gawk distribution and is also available in PDF format here:

http://web.eecs.umich.edu/~tpkelly/pma/pm-gawk_rev1.52_2022.08aug.16.pdf

A brief description of the feature along with the example in the "Quick Start" section of the user manual above, along with a link to the user manual, might be sufficient to enable interested readers to find additional details on their own.

The persistent memory allocator upon which pm-gawk is based is described here:

https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3534855

-- Terence Kelly 38.99.114.119 (talk) 23:19, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

I added a one-sentence mention of persistent-memory gawk and included a URL to the User Manual at gnu.org.

-- Terence Kelly — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.250.213.78 (talk) 06:49, 20 December 2022 (UTC)

 * As presented there, that's abusing WP:EL as well as WP:UNDUE. Toning down the self-promotion would be an improvement TEDickey (talk) 09:00, 20 December 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:AWK


text:
Aspirin

Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and/or inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions which aspirin is used to treat include Kawasaki disease, pericarditis, and rheumatic fever.

Aspirin is also used long-term to help prevent further heart attacks, ischaemic strokes, and blood clots in people at high risk. For pain or fever, effects typically begin within 30 minutes. Aspirin works similarly to other NSAIDs but also suppresses the normal functioning of platelets.

One common adverse effect is an upset stomach. More significant side effects include stomach ulcers, stomach bleeding, and worsening asthma. Bleeding risk is greater among those who are older, drink alcohol, take other NSAIDs, or are on other blood thinners. Aspirin is not recommended in the last part of pregnancy. It is not generally recommended in children with infections because of the risk of Reye syndrome. High doses may result in ringing in the ears.

A precursor to aspirin found in the bark of the willow tree (genus Salix) has been used for its health effects for at least 2,400 years. In 1853, chemist Charles Frédéric Gerhardt treated the medicine sodium salicylate with acetyl chloride to produce acetylsalicylic acid for the first time. Over the next 50 years, other chemists, mostly of the German company Bayer, established the chemical structure and devised more efficient production methods.

Aspirin is available without medical prescription as a proprietary or generic medication in most jurisdictions. It is one of the most widely used medications globally, with an estimated 40000 tonne (50 to 120 billion pills) consumed each year, and is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. In 2021, it was the 34th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 17million prescriptions.

Brand vs. generic name
In 1897, scientists at the Bayer company began studying acetylsalicylic acid as a less-irritating replacement medication for common salicylate medicines. By 1899, Bayer had named it "Aspirin" and was selling it around the world.

Aspirin's popularity grew over the first half of the 20th century, leading to competition between many brands and formulations. The word Aspirin was Bayer's brand name; however, their rights to the trademark were lost or sold in many countries. The name is ultimately a blend of the prefix a(cetyl) + spir Spiraea, the meadowsweet plant genus from which the acetylsalicylic acid was originally derived at Bayer + -in, the common chemical suffix.

Chemical properties
Aspirin decomposes rapidly in solutions of ammonium acetate or the acetates, carbonates, citrates, or hydroxides of the alkali metals. It is stable in dry air, but gradually hydrolyses in contact with moisture to acetic and salicylic acids. In solution with alkalis, the hydrolysis proceeds rapidly and the clear solutions formed may consist entirely of acetate and salicylate.

Like flour mills, factories producing aspirin tablets must control the amount of the powder that becomes airborne inside the building, because the powder-air mixture can be explosive. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set a recommended exposure limit in the United States of 5mg/m3 (time-weighted average). In 1989, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) set a legal permissible exposure limit for aspirin of 5mg/m3, but this was vacated by the AFL-CIO v. OSHA decision in 1993.

Synthesis
The synthesis of aspirin is classified as an esterification reaction. Salicylic acid is treated with acetic anhydride, an acid derivative, causing a chemical reaction that turns salicylic acid's hydroxyl group into an ester group (R-OH → R-OCOCH3). This process yields aspirin and acetic acid, which is considered a byproduct of this reaction. Small amounts of sulfuric acid (and occasionally phosphoric acid) are almost always used as a catalyst. This method is commonly demonstrated in undergraduate teaching labs.

Reaction between acetic acid and salicylic acid can also form aspirin but this esterification reaction is reversible and the presence of water can lead to hydrolysis of the aspirin. So, an anhydrous reagent is preferred.
 * Reaction mechanism

Formulations containing high concentrations of aspirin often smell like vinegar because aspirin can decompose through hydrolysis in moist conditions, yielding salicylic and acetic acids.

Physical properties
Aspirin, an acetyl derivative of salicylic acid, is a white, crystalline, weakly acidic substance, which melts at 136 C, and decomposes around 140 C. Its acid dissociation constant (pKa) is 3.5 at 25 C.

Polymorphism
Polymorphism, or the ability of a substance to form more than one crystal structure, is important in the development of pharmaceutical ingredients. Many drugs receive regulatory approval for only a single crystal form or polymorph.

There was only one proven polymorph Form I of aspirin, though the existence of another polymorph was debated since the 1960s, and one report from 1981 reported that when crystallized in the presence of aspirin anhydride, the diffractogram of aspirin has weak additional peaks. Though at the time it was dismissed as mere impurity, it was, in retrospect, Form II aspirin.

Form II was reported in 2005, found after attempted co-crystallization of aspirin and levetiracetam from hot acetonitrile.

In form I, pairs of aspirin molecules form centrosymmetric dimers through the acetyl groups with the (acidic) methyl proton to carbonyl hydrogen bonds. In form II, each aspirin molecule forms the same hydrogen bonds, but with two neighbouring molecules instead of one. With respect to the hydrogen bonds formed by the carboxylic acid groups, both polymorphs form identical dimer structures. The aspirin polymorphs contain identical 2-dimensional sections and are therefore more precisely described as polytypes.

Pure Form II aspirin could be prepared by seeding the batch with aspirin anhydrate in 15% weight.

Discovery of the mechanism
In 1971, British pharmacologist John Robert Vane, then employed by the Royal College of Surgeons in London, showed aspirin suppressed the production of prostaglandins and thromboxanes. For this discovery he was awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, jointly with Sune Bergström and Bengt Ingemar Samuelsson.

Prostaglandins and thromboxanes
Aspirin's ability to suppress the production of prostaglandins and thromboxanes is due to its irreversible inactivation of the cyclooxygenase (COX; officially known as prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase, PTGS) enzyme required for prostaglandin and thromboxane synthesis. Aspirin acts as an acetylating agent where an acetyl group is covalently attached to a serine residue in the active site of the COX enzyme (Suicide inhibition). This makes aspirin different from other NSAIDs (such as diclofenac and ibuprofen), which are reversible inhibitors.

Low-dose aspirin use irreversibly blocks the formation of thromboxane A2 in platelets, producing an inhibitory effect on platelet aggregation during the lifetime of the affected platelet (8–9 days). This antithrombotic property makes aspirin useful for reducing the incidence of heart attacks in people who have had a heart attack, unstable angina, ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. 40mg of aspirin a day is able to inhibit a large proportion of maximum thromboxane A2 release provoked acutely, with the prostaglandin I2 synthesis being little affected; however, higher doses of aspirin are required to attain further inhibition.

Prostaglandins, local hormones produced in the body, have diverse effects, including the transmission of pain information to the brain, modulation of the hypothalamic thermostat, and inflammation. Thromboxanes are responsible for the aggregation of platelets that form blood clots. Heart attacks are caused primarily by blood clots, and low doses of aspirin are seen as an effective medical intervention to prevent a second acute myocardial infarction.

COX-1 and COX-2 inhibition
At least two different types of cyclooxygenases, COX-1 and COX-2, are acted on by aspirin. Aspirin irreversibly inhibits COX-1 and modifies the enzymatic activity of COX-2. COX-2 normally produces prostanoids, most of which are proinflammatory. Aspirin-modified COX-2 (aka prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 or PTGS2) produces lipoxins, most of which are anti-inflammatory. Newer NSAID drugs, COX-2 inhibitors (coxibs), have been developed to inhibit only COX-2, with the intent to reduce the incidence of gastrointestinal side effects.

Several COX-2 inhibitors, such as rofecoxib (Vioxx), have been withdrawn from the market, after evidence emerged that COX-2 inhibitors increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Endothelial cells lining the microvasculature in the body are proposed to express COX-2, and, by selectively inhibiting COX-2, prostaglandin production (specifically, PGI2; prostacyclin) is downregulated with respect to thromboxane levels, as COX-1 in platelets is unaffected. Thus, the protective anticoagulative effect of PGI2 is removed, increasing the risk of thrombus and associated heart attacks and other circulatory problems. Since platelets have no DNA, they are unable to synthesize new COX once aspirin has irreversibly inhibited the enzyme, an important difference as compared with reversible inhibitors.

Furthermore, aspirin, while inhibiting the ability of COX-2 to form pro-inflammatory products such as the prostaglandins, converts this enzyme's activity from a prostaglandin-forming cyclooxygenase to a lipoxygenase-like enzyme: aspirin-treated COX-2 metabolizes a variety of polyunsaturated fatty acids to hydroperoxy products which are then further metabolized to specialized proresolving mediators such as the aspirin-triggered lipoxins, aspirin-triggered resolvins, and aspirin-triggered maresins. These mediators possess potent anti-inflammatory activity. It is proposed that this aspirin-triggered transition of COX-2 from cyclooxygenase to lipoxygenase activity and the consequential formation of specialized proresolving mediators contributes to the anti-inflammatory effects of aspirin.

Additional mechanisms
Aspirin has been shown to have at least three additional modes of action. It uncouples oxidative phosphorylation in cartilaginous (and hepatic) mitochondria, by diffusing from the inner membrane space as a proton carrier back into the mitochondrial matrix, where it ionizes once again to release protons. Aspirin buffers and transports the protons. When high doses are given, it may actually cause fever, owing to the heat released from the electron transport chain, as opposed to the antipyretic action of aspirin seen with lower doses. In addition, aspirin induces the formation of NO-radicals in the body, which have been shown in mice to have an independent mechanism of reducing inflammation. This reduced leukocyte adhesion is an important step in the immune response to infection; however, evidence is insufficient to show aspirin helps to fight infection. More recent data also suggest salicylic acid and its derivatives modulate signalling through NF-κB. NF-κB, a transcription factor complex, plays a central role in many biological processes, including inflammation.

Aspirin is readily broken down in the body to salicylic acid, which itself has anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and analgesic effects. In 2012, salicylic acid was found to activate AMP-activated protein kinase, which has been suggested as a possible explanation for some of the effects of both salicylic acid and aspirin. The acetyl portion of the aspirin molecule has its own targets. Acetylation of cellular proteins is a well-established phenomenon in the regulation of protein function at the post-translational level. Aspirin is able to acetylate several other targets in addition to COX isoenzymes. These acetylation reactions may explain many hitherto unexplained effects of aspirin.

Formulations
Aspirin is produced in many formulations, with some differences in effect. In particular, aspirin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding, and formulations are sought which deliver the benefits of aspirin while mitigating harmful bleeding. Formulations may be combined (e.g., buffered + vitamin C).
 * Tablets, typically of about 75–100 mg and 300–320 mg of immediate-release aspirin (IR-ASA).
 * Dispersible tablets.
 * Enteric-coated tablets.
 * Buffered formulations containing aspirin with one of many buffering agents.
 * Formulations of aspirin with vitamin C (ASA-VitC)
 * A phospholipid-aspirin complex liquid formulation, PL-ASA. the phospholipid coating was being trialled to determine if it caused less gastrointestinal damage.

Pharmacokinetics
Acetylsalicylic acid is a weak acid, and very little of it is ionized in the stomach after oral administration. Acetylsalicylic acid is quickly absorbed through the cell membrane in the acidic conditions of the stomach. The increased pH and larger surface area of the small intestine causes aspirin to be absorbed more slowly there, as more of it is ionized. Owing to the formation of concretions, aspirin is absorbed much more slowly during overdose, and plasma concentrations can continue to rise for up to 24 hours after ingestion.

About 50–80% of salicylate in the blood is bound to human serum albumin, while the rest remains in the active, ionized state; protein binding is concentration-dependent. Saturation of binding sites leads to more free salicylate and increased toxicity. The volume of distribution is 0.1–0.2 L/kg. Acidosis increases the volume of distribution because of enhancement of tissue penetration of salicylates.

As much as 80% of therapeutic doses of salicylic acid is metabolized in the liver. Conjugation with glycine forms salicyluric acid, and with glucuronic acid to form two different glucuronide esters. The conjugate with the acetyl group intact is referred to as the acyl glucuronide; the deacetylated conjugate is the phenolic glucuronide. These metabolic pathways have only a limited capacity. Small amounts of salicylic acid are also hydroxylated to gentisic acid. With large salicylate doses, the kinetics switch from first-order to zero-order, as metabolic pathways become saturated and renal excretion becomes increasingly important.

Salicylates are excreted mainly by the kidneys as salicyluric acid (75%), free salicylic acid (10%), salicylic phenol (10%), and acyl glucuronides (5%), gentisic acid (< 1%), and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid. When small doses (less than 250mg in an adult) are ingested, all pathways proceed by first-order kinetics, with an elimination half-life of about 2.0 h to 4.5 h. When higher doses of salicylate are ingested (more than 4 g), the half-life becomes much longer (15 h to 30 h), because the biotransformation pathways concerned with the formation of salicyluric acid and salicyl phenolic glucuronide become saturated. Renal excretion of salicylic acid becomes increasingly important as the metabolic pathways become saturated, because it is extremely sensitive to changes in urinary pH. A 10- to 20-fold increase in renal clearance occurs when urine pH is increased from 5 to 8. The use of urinary alkalinization exploits this particular aspect of salicylate elimination. It was found that short-term aspirin use in therapeutic doses might precipitate reversible acute kidney injury when the patient was ill with glomerulonephritis or cirrhosis. Aspirin for some patients with chronic kidney disease and some children with congestive heart failure was contraindicated.

History

Medicines made from willow and other salicylate-rich plants appear in clay tablets from ancient Sumer as well as the Ebers Papyrus from ancient Egypt. Hippocrates referred to the use of salicylic tea to reduce fevers around 400 BC, and willow bark preparations were part of the pharmacopoeia of Western medicine in classical antiquity and the Middle Ages. Willow bark extract became recognized for its specific effects on fever, pain, and inflammation in the mid-eighteenth century. By the nineteenth century, pharmacists were experimenting with and prescribing a variety of chemicals related to salicylic acid, the active component of willow extract.

In 1853, chemist Charles Frédéric Gerhardt treated sodium salicylate with acetyl chloride to produce acetylsalicylic acid for the first time; in the second half of the 19th century, other academic chemists established the compound's chemical structure and devised more efficient methods of synthesis. In 1897, scientists at the drug and dye firm Bayer began investigating acetylsalicylic acid as a less-irritating replacement for standard common salicylate medicines, and identified a new way to synthesize it. By 1899, Bayer had dubbed this drug Aspirin and was selling it globally. The word Aspirin was Bayer's brand name, rather than the generic name of the drug; however, Bayer's rights to the trademark were lost or sold in many countries. Aspirin's popularity grew over the first half of the 20th century leading to fierce competition with the proliferation of aspirin brands and products.

Aspirin's popularity declined after the development of acetaminophen/paracetamol in 1956 and ibuprofen in 1962. In the 1960s and 1970s, John Vane and others discovered the basic mechanism of aspirin's effects, while clinical trials and other studies from the 1960s to the 1980s established aspirin's efficacy as an anti-clotting agent that reduces the risk of clotting diseases. The initial large studies on the use of low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attacks that were published in the 1970s and 1980s helped spur reform in clinical research ethics and guidelines for human subject research and US federal law, and are often cited as examples of clinical trials that included only men, but from which people drew general conclusions that did not hold true for women.

Aspirin sales revived considerably in the last decades of the 20th century, and remain strong in the 21st century with widespread use as a preventive treatment for heart attacks and strokes.

Trademark
Bayer lost its trademark for Aspirin in the United States and some other countries in actions taken between 1918 and 1921 because it had failed to use the name for its own product correctly and had for years allowed the use of "Aspirin" by other manufacturers without defending the intellectual property rights. Today, aspirin is a generic trademark in many countries. Aspirin, with a capital "A", remains a registered trademark of Bayer in Germany, Canada, Mexico, and in over 80 other countries, for acetylsalicylic acid in all markets, but using different packaging and physical aspects for each.

Compendial status

 * United States Pharmacopeia
 * British Pharmacopoeia

Medical use
Aspirin is used in the treatment of a number of conditions, including fever, pain, rheumatic fever, and inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, pericarditis, and Kawasaki disease. Lower doses of aspirin have also been shown to reduce the risk of death from a heart attack, or the risk of stroke in people who are at high risk or who have cardiovascular disease, but not in elderly people who are otherwise healthy. There is evidence that aspirin is effective at preventing colorectal cancer, though the mechanisms of this effect are unclear.

Pain
Aspirin is an effective analgesic for acute pain, although it is generally considered inferior to ibuprofen because aspirin is more likely to cause gastrointestinal bleeding. Aspirin is generally ineffective for those pains caused by muscle cramps, bloating, gastric distension, or acute skin irritation. As with other NSAIDs, combinations of aspirin and caffeine provide slightly greater pain relief than aspirin alone. Effervescent formulations of aspirin relieve pain faster than aspirin in tablets, which makes them useful for the treatment of migraines. Topical aspirin may be effective for treating some types of neuropathic pain.

Aspirin, either by itself or in a combined formulation, effectively treats certain types of a headache, but its efficacy may be questionable for others. Secondary headaches, meaning those caused by another disorder or trauma, should be promptly treated by a medical provider. Among primary headaches, the International Classification of Headache Disorders distinguishes between tension headache (the most common), migraine, and cluster headache. Aspirin or other over-the-counter analgesics are widely recognized as effective for the treatment of tension headaches. Aspirin, especially as a component of an aspirin/paracetamol/caffeine combination, is considered a first-line therapy in the treatment of migraine, and comparable to lower doses of sumatriptan. It is most effective at stopping migraines when they are first beginning.

Fever
Like its ability to control pain, aspirin's ability to control fever is due to its action on the prostaglandin system through its irreversible inhibition of COX. Although aspirin's use as an antipyretic in adults is well established, many medical societies and regulatory agencies, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Food and Drug Administration, strongly advise against using aspirin for the treatment of fever in children because of the risk of Reye's syndrome, a rare but often fatal illness associated with the use of aspirin or other salicylates in children during episodes of viral or bacterial infection. Because of the risk of Reye's syndrome in children, in 1986, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required labeling on all aspirin-containing medications advising against its use in children and teenagers.

Inflammation
Aspirin is used as an anti-inflammatory agent for both acute and long-term inflammation, as well as for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Heart attacks and strokes
Aspirin is an important part of the treatment of those who have had a heart attack. It is generally not recommended for routine use by people with no other health problems, including those over the age of 70.

The 2009 Antithrombotic Trialists' Collaboration published in Lancet evaluated the efficacy and safety of low dose aspirin in secondary prevention. In those with prior ischaemic stroke or acute myocardial infarction, daily low dose aspirin was associated with a 19% relative risk reduction of serious cardiovascular events (non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, or vascular death). This did come at the expense of a 0.19% absolute risk increase in gastrointestinal bleeding; however, the benefits outweigh the hazard risk in this case. Data from previous trials have suggested that weight-based dosing of aspirin has greater benefits in primary prevention of cardiovascular outcomes. However, more recent trials were not able to replicate similar outcomes using low dose aspirin in low body weight (<70 kg) in specific subset of population studied i.e. elderly and diabetic population, and more evidence is required to study the effect of high dose aspirin in high body weight (≥70 kg).

After percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs), such as the placement of a coronary artery stent, a U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality guideline recommends that aspirin be taken indefinitely. Frequently, aspirin is combined with an ADP receptor inhibitor, such as clopidogrel, prasugrel, or ticagrelor to prevent blood clots. This is called dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). Duration of DAPT was advised in the United States and European Union guidelines after the CURE and PRODIGY studies. In 2020, the systematic review and network meta-analysis from Khan et al. showed promising benefits of short-term (< 6 months) DAPT followed by P2Y12 inhibitors in selected patients, as well as the benefits of extended-term (> 12 months) DAPT in high risk patients. In conclusion, the optimal duration of DAPT after PCIs should be personalized after outweighing each patient's risks of ischemic events and risks of bleeding events with consideration of multiple patient-related and procedure-related factors. Moreover, aspirin should be continued indefinitely after DAPT is complete.

The status of the use of aspirin for the primary prevention in cardiovascular disease is conflicting and inconsistent, with recent changes from previously recommending it widely decades ago, and that some referenced newer trials in clinical guidelines show less of benefit of adding aspirin alongside other anti-hypertensive and cholesterol lowering therapies. The ASCEND study demonstrated that in high-bleeding risk diabetics with no prior cardiovascular disease, there is no overall clinical benefit (12% decrease in risk of ischaemic events v/s 29% increase in GI bleeding) of low dose aspirin in preventing the serious vascular events over a period of 7.4 years. Similarly, the results of the ARRIVE study also showed no benefit of same dose of aspirin in reducing the time to first cardiovascular outcome in patients with moderate risk of cardiovascular disease over a period of five years. Aspirin has also been suggested as a component of a polypill for prevention of cardiovascular disease. Complicating the use of aspirin for prevention is the phenomenon of aspirin resistance. For people who are resistant, aspirin's efficacy is reduced. Some authors have suggested testing regimens to identify people who are resistant to aspirin.

As of, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) determined that there was a "small net benefit" for patients aged 40–59 with a 10% or greater 10-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, and "no net benefit" for patients aged over 60. Determining the net benefit was based on balancing the risk reduction of taking aspirin for heart attacks and ischaemic strokes, with the increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, intracranial bleeding, and hemorrhagic strokes. Their recommendations state that age changes the risk of the medicine, with the magnitude of the benefit of aspirin coming from starting at a younger age, while the risk of bleeding, while small, increases with age, particular for adults over 60, and can be compounded by other risk factors such as diabetes and a history of gastrointestinal bleeding. As a result, the USPSTF suggests that "people ages 40 to 59 who are at higher risk for CVD should decide with their clinician whether to start taking aspirin; people 60 or older should not start taking aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke." Primary prevention guidelines from made by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association state they might consider aspirin for patients aged 40–69 with a higher risk of atherosclerotic CVD, without an increased bleeding risk, while stating they would not recommend aspirin for patients aged over 70 or adults of any age with an increased bleeding risk. They state a CVD risk estimation and a risk discussion should be done before starting on aspirin, while stating aspirin should be used "infrequently in the routine primary prevention of (atherosclerotic CVD) because of lack of net benefit". As of, the European Society of Cardiology made similar recommendations; considering aspirin specifically to patients aged less than 70 at high or very high CVD risk, without any clear contraindications, on a case-by-case basis considering both ischemic risk and bleeding risk.

Cancer prevention
Aspirin may reduce the overall risk of both getting cancer and dying from cancer. There is substantial evidence for lowering the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC),  but aspirin must be taken for at least 10–20 years to see this benefit. It may also slightly reduce the risk of endometrial cancer and prostate cancer.

Some conclude the benefits are greater than the risks due to bleeding in those at average risk. Others are unclear if the benefits are greater than the risk. Given this uncertainty, the 2007 United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines on this topic recommended against the use of aspirin for prevention of CRC in people with average risk. Nine years later however, the USPSTF issued a grade B recommendation for the use of low-dose aspirin (75 to 100mg/day) "for the primary prevention of CVD [cardiovascular disease] and CRC in adults 50 to 59 years of age who have a 10% or greater 10-year CVD risk, are not at increased risk for bleeding, have a life expectancy of at least 10 years, and are willing to take low-dose aspirin daily for at least 10 years".

A meta-analysis through 2019 said that there was an association between taking aspirin and lower risk of cancer of the colorectum, esophagus, and stomach.

In 2021, the U.S. Preventive services Task Force raised questions about the use of aspirin in cancer prevention. It notes the results of the 2018 ASPREE (Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly) Trial, in which the risk of cancer-related death was higher in the aspirin-treated group than in the placebo group.

Bipolar disorder
Aspirin, along with several other agents with anti-inflammatory properties, has been repurposed as an add-on treatment for depressive episodes in subjects with bipolar disorder in light of the possible role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of severe mental disorders. A 2022 systematic review concluded that aspirin exposure reduced the risk of depression in a pooled cohort of three studies (HR 0.624, 95% CI: 0.0503, 1.198, P=0.033). However, further high-quality, longer-duration, double-blind randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed to determine whether aspirin is an effective add-on treatment for bipolar depression. Thus, notwithstanding the biological rationale, the clinical perspectives of aspirin and anti-inflammatory agents in the treatment of bipolar depression remain uncertain.

Dementia
Although cohort and longitudinal studies have shown low-dose aspirin has a greater likelihood of reducing the incidence of dementia, numerous randomized controlled trials have not validated this.

Schizophrenia
Some researchers have speculated the anti-inflammatory effects of aspirin may be beneficial for schizophrenia. Small trials have been conducted but evidence remains lacking.

Other uses
Aspirin is a first-line treatment for the fever and joint-pain symptoms of acute rheumatic fever. The therapy often lasts for one to two weeks, and is rarely indicated for longer periods. After fever and pain have subsided, the aspirin is no longer necessary, since it does not decrease the incidence of heart complications and residual rheumatic heart disease. Naproxen has been shown to be as effective as aspirin and less toxic, but due to the limited clinical experience, naproxen is recommended only as a second-line treatment.

Along with rheumatic fever, Kawasaki disease remains one of the few indications for aspirin use in children in spite of a lack of high quality evidence for its effectiveness.

Low-dose aspirin supplementation has moderate benefits when used for prevention of pre-eclampsia. This benefit is greater when started in early pregnancy.

Aspirin has also demonstrated anti-tumoral effects, via inhibition of the PTTG1 gene, which is often overexpressed in tumors.

Resistance
For some people, aspirin does not have as strong an effect on platelets as for others, an effect known as aspirin-resistance or insensitivity. One study has suggested women are more likely to be resistant than men, and a different, aggregate study of 2,930 people found 28% were resistant. A study in 100 Italian people found, of the apparent 31% aspirin-resistant subjects, only 5% were truly resistant, and the others were noncompliant. Another study of 400 healthy volunteers found no subjects who were truly resistant, but some had "pseudoresistance, reflecting delayed and reduced drug absorption".

Meta-analysis and systematic reviews have concluded that laboratory confirmed aspirin resistance confers increased rates of poorer outcomes in cardiovascular and neurovascular diseases. Although the majority of research conducted has surrounded cardiovascular and neurovascular, there is emerging research into the risk of aspirin resistance after orthopaedic surgery where aspirin is used for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis. Aspirin resistance in orthopaedic surgery, specifically after total hip and knee arthroplasties, is of interest as risk factors for aspirin resistance are also risk factors for venous thromboembolisms and osteoarthritis; the sequelae of requiring a total hip or knee arthroplasty. Some of these risk factors include obesity, advancing age, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and inflammatory diseases.

Dosages
Adult aspirin tablets are produced in standardised sizes, which vary slightly from country to country, for example 300mg in Britain and 325mg in the United States. Smaller doses are based on these standards, e.g., 75mg and 81mg tablets. The 81 mg tablets are commonly called "baby aspirin" or "baby-strength", because they were originally – but no longer – intended to be administered to infants and children. No medical significance occurs due to the slight difference in dosage between the 75mg and the 81mg tablets. The dose required for benefit appears to depend on a person's weight. For those weighing less than 70 kg, low dose is effective for preventing cardiovascular disease; for patients above this weight, higher doses are required.

In general, for adults, doses are taken four times a day for fever or arthritis, with doses near the maximal daily dose used historically for the treatment of rheumatic fever. For the prevention of myocardial infarction (MI) in someone with documented or suspected coronary artery disease, much lower doses are taken once daily.

March 2009 recommendations from the USPSTF on the use of aspirin for the primary prevention of coronary heart disease encourage men aged 45–79 and women aged 55–79 to use aspirin when the potential benefit of a reduction in MI for men or stroke for women outweighs the potential harm of an increase in gastrointestinal hemorrhage. The WHI study of postmenopausal women found that aspirin resulted in a 25% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 14% lower risk of death from any cause, though there was no significant difference between 81mg and 325mg aspirin doses. The 2021 ADAPTABLE study also showed no significant difference in cardiovascular events or major bleeding between 81mg and 325mg doses of aspirin in patients (both men and women) with established cardiovascular disease.

Low-dose aspirin use was also associated with a trend toward lower risk of cardiovascular events, and lower aspirin doses (75 or 81mg/day) may optimize efficacy and safety for people requiring aspirin for long-term prevention.

In children with Kawasaki disease, aspirin is taken at dosages based on body weight, initially four times a day for up to two weeks and then at a lower dose once daily for a further six to eight weeks.

Adverse effects
In October 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required the drug label to be updated for all nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications to describe the risk of kidney problems in unborn babies that result in low amniotic fluid. They recommend avoiding NSAIDs in pregnant women at 20 weeks or later in pregnancy. One exception to the recommendation is the use of low-dose 81mg aspirin at any point in pregnancy under the direction of a health care professional.

Contraindications
Aspirin should not be taken by people who are allergic to ibuprofen or naproxen, or who have salicylate intolerance or a more generalized drug intolerance to NSAIDs, and caution should be exercised in those with asthma or NSAID-precipitated bronchospasm. Owing to its effect on the stomach lining, manufacturers recommend people with peptic ulcers, mild diabetes, or gastritis seek medical advice before using aspirin. Even if none of these conditions is present, the risk of stomach bleeding is still increased when aspirin is taken with alcohol or warfarin. People with hemophilia or other bleeding tendencies should not take aspirin or other salicylates. Aspirin is known to cause hemolytic anemia in people who have the genetic disease glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, particularly in large doses and depending on the severity of the disease. Use of aspirin during dengue fever is not recommended owing to increased bleeding tendency. Aspirin taken at doses of ≤325 mg and ≤100 mg per day for ≥2 days can increase the odds of suffering a gout attack by 81% and 91% respectively. This effect may potentially be worsened by high purine diets, diuretics, and kidney disease, but is eliminated by the urate lowering drug allopurinol. Daily low dose aspirin does not appear to worsen kidney function. Aspirin may reduce cardiovascular risk in those without established cardiovascular disease in people with moderate CKD, without significantly increasing the risk of bleeding. Aspirin should not be given to children or adolescents under the age of 16 to control cold or influenza symptoms, as this has been linked with Reye's syndrome.

Gastrointestinal
Aspirin increases the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Enteric coating on aspirin may be used in manufacturing to prevent release of aspirin into the stomach to reduce gastric harm, but enteric coating does not reduce gastrointestinal bleeding risk. Enteric-coated aspirin may not be as effective at reducing blood clot risk. Combining aspirin with other NSAIDs has been shown to further increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. Using aspirin in combination with clopidogrel or warfarin also increases the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Blockade of COX-1 by aspirin apparently results in the upregulation of COX-2 as part of a gastric defense. There is no clear evidence that simultaneous use of a COX-2 inhibitor with aspirin may increase the risk of gastrointestinal injury.

"Buffering" is an additional method used with the intent to mitigate gastrointestinal bleeding, such as by preventing aspirin from concentrating in the walls of the stomach, although the benefits of buffered aspirin are disputed. Almost any buffering agent used in antacids can be used; Bufferin, for example, uses magnesium oxide. Other preparations use calcium carbonate. Gas-forming agents in effervescent tablet and powder formulations can also double as a buffering agent, one example being sodium bicarbonate, used in Alka-Seltzer.

Taking vitamin C with aspirin has been investigated as a method of protecting the stomach lining. In trials vitamin C-releasing aspirin (ASA-VitC) or a buffered aspirin formulation containing vitamin C was found to cause less stomach damage than aspirin alone.

Retinal vein occlusion
It is a widespread habit among eye specialists (ophthalmologists) to prescribe aspirin as an add-on medication for patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO), such as central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). The reason of this widespread use is the evidence of its proven effectiveness in major systemic venous thrombotic disorders, and it has been assumed that may be similarly beneficial in various types of retinal vein occlusion.

However, a large-scale investigation based on data of nearly 700 patients showed "that aspirin or other antiplatelet aggregating agents or anticoagulants adversely influence the visual outcome in patients with CRVO and hemi-CRVO, without any evidence of protective or beneficial effect". Several expert groups, including the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, recommended against the use of antithrombotic drugs (incl. aspirin) for patients with RVO.

Central effects
Large doses of salicylate, a metabolite of aspirin, cause temporary tinnitus (ringing in the ears) based on experiments in rats, via the action on arachidonic acid and NMDA receptors cascade.

Reye's syndrome
Reye's syndrome, a rare but severe illness characterized by acute encephalopathy and fatty liver, can occur when children or adolescents are given aspirin for a fever or other illness or infection. From 1981 to 1997, 1207 cases of Reye's syndrome in people younger than 18 were reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of these, 93% reported being ill in the three weeks preceding the onset of Reye's syndrome, most commonly with a respiratory infection, chickenpox, or diarrhea. Salicylates were detectable in 81.9% of children for whom test results were reported. After the association between Reye's syndrome and aspirin was reported, and safety measures to prevent it (including a Surgeon General's warning, and changes to the labeling of aspirin-containing drugs) were implemented, aspirin taken by children declined considerably in the United States, as did the number of reported cases of Reye's syndrome; a similar decline was found in the United Kingdom after warnings against pediatric aspirin use were issued. The US Food and Drug Administration recommends aspirin (or aspirin-containing products) should not be given to anyone under the age of 12 who has a fever, and the UK National Health Service recommends children who are under 16 years of age should not take aspirin, unless it is on the advice of a doctor.

Skin
For a small number of people, taking aspirin can result in symptoms including hives, swelling, and headache. Aspirin can exacerbate symptoms among those with chronic hives, or create acute symptoms of hives. These responses can be due to allergic reactions to aspirin, or more often due to its effect of inhibiting the COX-1 enzyme. Skin reactions may also tie to systemic contraindications, seen with NSAID-precipitated bronchospasm, or those with atopy.

Aspirin and other NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, may delay the healing of skin wounds. Earlier findings from two small, low-quality trials suggested a benefit with aspirin (alongside compression therapy) on venous leg ulcer healing time and leg ulcer size,  however larger, more recent studies of higher quality have been unable to corroborate these outcomes. As such, further research is required to clarify the role of aspirin in this context.

Other adverse effects
Aspirin can induce swelling of skin tissues in some people. In one study, angioedema appeared one to six hours after ingesting aspirin in some of the people. However, when the aspirin was taken alone, it did not cause angioedema in these people; the aspirin had been taken in combination with another NSAID-induced drug when angioedema appeared.

Aspirin causes an increased risk of cerebral microbleeds, having the appearance on MRI scans of 5 to 10mm or smaller, hypointense (dark holes) patches.

A study of a group with a mean dosage of aspirin of 270mg per day estimated an average absolute risk increase in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) of 12 events per 10,000 persons. In comparison, the estimated absolute risk reduction in myocardial infarction was 137 events per 10,000 persons, and a reduction of 39 events per 10,000 persons in ischemic stroke. In cases where ICH already has occurred, aspirin use results in higher mortality, with a dose of about 250mg per day resulting in a relative risk of death within three months after the ICH around 2.5 (95% confidence interval 1.3 to 4.6).

Aspirin and other NSAIDs can cause abnormally high blood levels of potassium by inducing a hyporeninemic hypoaldosteronism state via inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis; however, these agents do not typically cause hyperkalemia by themselves in the setting of normal renal function and euvolemic state.

Use of low-dose aspirin before a surgical procedure has been associated with an increased risk of bleeding events in some patients, however, ceasing aspirin prior to surgery has also been associated with an increase in major adverse cardiac events. An analysis of multiple studies found a three-fold increase in adverse events such as myocardial infarction in patients who ceased aspirin prior to surgery. The analysis found that the risk is dependent on the type of surgery being performed and the patient indication for aspirin use.

On 9 July 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) toughened warnings of increased heart attack and stroke risk associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). Aspirin is an NSAID but is not affected by the new warnings.

Overdose
Aspirin overdose can be acute or chronic. In acute poisoning, a single large dose is taken; in chronic poisoning, higher than normal doses are taken over a period of time. Acute overdose has a mortality rate of 2%. Chronic overdose is more commonly lethal, with a mortality rate of 25%; chronic overdose may be especially severe in children. Toxicity is managed with a number of potential treatments, including activated charcoal, intravenous dextrose and normal saline, sodium bicarbonate, and dialysis. The diagnosis of poisoning usually involves measurement of plasma salicylate, the active metabolite of aspirin, by automated spectrophotometric methods. Plasma salicylate levels in general range from 30 to 100mg/L after usual therapeutic doses, 50–300mg/L in people taking high doses and 700–1400mg/L following acute overdose. Salicylate is also produced as a result of exposure to bismuth subsalicylate, methyl salicylate, and sodium salicylate.

Interactions
Aspirin is known to interact with other drugs. For example, acetazolamide and ammonium chloride are known to enhance the intoxicating effect of salicylates, and alcohol also increases the gastrointestinal bleeding associated with these types of drugs. Aspirin is known to displace a number of drugs from protein-binding sites in the blood, including the antidiabetic drugs tolbutamide and chlorpropamide, warfarin, methotrexate, phenytoin, probenecid, valproic acid (as well as interfering with beta oxidation, an important part of valproate metabolism), and other NSAIDs. Corticosteroids may also reduce the concentration of aspirin. Other NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen, may reduce the antiplatelet effect of aspirin. Although limited evidence suggests this may not result in a reduced cardioprotective effect of aspirin. Analgesic doses of aspirin decrease sodium loss induced by spironolactone in the urine, however this does not reduce the antihypertensive effects of spironolactone. Furthermore, antiplatelet doses of aspirin are deemed too small to produce an interaction with spironolactone. Aspirin is known to compete with penicillin G for renal tubular secretion. Aspirin may also inhibit the absorption of vitamin C.

Research
The ISIS-2 trial demonstrated that aspirin at doses of 160mg daily for one month, decreased the mortality by 21% of participants with a suspected myocardial infarction in the first five weeks. A single daily dose of 324mg of aspirin for 12 weeks has a highly protective effect against acute myocardial infarction and death in men with unstable angina.

Bipolar disorder
Aspirin has been repurposed as an add-on treatment for depressive episodes in subjects with bipolar disorder. However, meta-analytic evidence is based on very few studies and does not suggest any efficacy of aspirin in the treatment of bipolar depression. Thus, notwithstanding the biological rationale, the clinical perspectives of aspirin and anti-inflammatory agents in the treatment of bipolar depression remain uncertain.

Infectious diseases
Several studies investigated the anti-infective properties of aspirin for bacterial, viral and parasitic infections. Aspirin was demonstrated to limit platelet activation induced by Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis and to reduce streptococcal adhesion to heart valves. In patients with tuberculous meningitis, the addition of aspirin reduced the risk of new cerebral infarction [RR = 0.52 (0.29-0.92)]. A role of aspirin on bacterial and fungal biofilm is also being supported by growing evidence.

Cancer prevention
Evidence from observational studies were conflicting on the effect of aspirin in breast cancer prevention, a randomized controlled trial showed that aspirin had no significant effect in reducing breast cancer thus further studies are needed to clarify aspirin effect in cancer prevention.

In gardening
There are many anecdotal reportings that aspirin can improve plant's growth and resistance though most research involved salicylic acid instead of aspirin.

Veterinary medicine
Aspirin is sometimes used in veterinary medicine as an anticoagulant or to relieve pain associated with musculoskeletal inflammation or osteoarthritis. Aspirin should only be given to animals under the direct supervision of a veterinarian, as adverse effects—including gastrointestinal issues—are common. An aspirin overdose in any species may result in salicylate poisoning, characterized by hemorrhaging, seizures, coma, and even death.

Dogs are better able to tolerate aspirin than cats are. Cats metabolize aspirin slowly because they lack the glucuronide conjugates that aid in the excretion of aspirin, making it potentially toxic if dosing is not spaced out properly. No clinical signs of toxicosis occurred when cats were given 25mg/kg of aspirin every 48 hours for 4 weeks, but the recommended dose for relief of pain and fever and for treating blood clotting diseases in cats is 10mg/kg every 48 hours to allow for metabolization.

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title: Aspirin


text:
Abner

In the Hebrew Bible, Abner (אַבְנֵר ) was the cousin of King Saul and the commander-in-chief of his army. His name also appears as "Abiner son of Ner", where the longer form Abiner means "my father is Ner".

Biblical narrative
Abner is initially mentioned incidentally in Saul's history, first appearing as the son of Ner, Saul's uncle, and the commander of Saul's army. He then comes to the story again as the commander who introduced David to Saul following David's killing of Goliath. He is not mentioned in the account of the disastrous battle of Gilboa when Saul's power was crushed. Seizing the youngest but only surviving of Saul's sons, Ish-bosheth, also called Eshbaal, Abner set him up as king over Israel at Mahanaim, east of the Jordan. David, who was accepted as king by Judah alone, was meanwhile reigning at Hebron, and for some time war was carried on between the two parties.

The only engagement between the rival factions which is told at length is noteworthy, inasmuch as it was preceded by an encounter at Gibeon between 12 chosen men from each side, in which all 24 seem to have perished. In the general engagement which followed, Abner was defeated and put to flight. He was closely pursued by Asahel, brother of Joab, who is said to have been "light of foot as a wild roe". As Asahel would not desist from the pursuit, though warned, Abner was compelled to slay him in self-defence. This originated a deadly feud between the leaders of the opposite parties, for Joab, as next of kin to Asahel, was by the law and custom of the country the avenger of his blood. However, according to Josephus, in Antiquities, book 7, chapter 1, Joab had forgiven Abner for the death of his brother, Asahel, the reason being that Abner had slain Asahel honorably in combat after he had first warned Asahel and tried to knock the wind out of him with the butt of his spear. However, probably by intervention of God, it went through Asahel. The Bible says everyone stopped and looked. That shows that something like this never happened before. This battle was part of a civil war between David and Ish-bosheth. After this battle, Abner switched sides and granted David control over the tribe of Benjamin. This act put Abner in David's favor.

For some time afterward, the war was carried on, the advantage being invariably on the side of David. At length, Ish-bosheth lost the main prop of his tottering cause by accusing Abner of sleeping with Rizpah, one of Saul's concubines, an alliance which, according to contemporary notions, would imply pretensions to the throne.

Abner was indignant at the rebuke, and immediately opened negotiations with David, who welcomed him on the condition that his wife Michal should be restored to him. This was done, and the proceedings were ratified by a feast. Almost immediately after, however, Joab, who had been sent away, perhaps intentionally returned and slew Abner at the gate of Hebron. The ostensible motive for the assassination was a desire to avenge Asahel, and this would be a sufficient justification for the deed according to the moral standard of the time (although Abner should have been safe from such a revenge killing in Hebron, which was a City of Refuge). The conduct of David after the event was such as to show that he had no complicity in the act, though he could not venture to punish its perpetrators.

David had Abner buried in Hebron, as stated in 2 Samuel 3:31–32, "And David said to all the people who were with him, 'Rend your clothes and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and wail before Abner.' And King David went after the bier. And they buried Abner in Hebron, and the king raised his voice and wept on Abner's grave, and all the people wept."

Shortly after Abner's death, Ish-bosheth was assassinated as he slept, and David became king of the reunited kingdoms.

Rabbinical Literature
Son of the Witch of En-dor (Pirḳe R. El. xxxiii.), and the hero par excellence in the Haggadah (Yalḳ., Jer. 285; Eccl. R. on ix. 11; Ḳid. 49b). Conscious of his extraordinary strength, he exclaimed: "If I could only catch hold of the earth, I could shake it" (Yalḳ. l.c.)—a saying which parallels the famous utterance of Archimedes, "Had I a fulcrum, I could move the world." According to the Midrash (Eccl. R. l.c.) it would have been easier to move a wall six yards thick than one of the feet of Abner, who could hold the Israelitish army between his knees. Yet when his time came, Joab smote him. But even in his dying hour, Abner seized his foe like a ball of thread, threatening to crush him. Then the Israelites came and pleaded for Joab's life, saying: "If thou killest him we shall be orphaned, and our women and all our belongings will become a prey to the Philistines." Abner answered: "What can I do? He has extinguished my light" (has wounded me fatally). The Israelites replied: "Entrust thy cause to the true judge [God]." Then Abner released his hold upon Joab and fell dead to the ground (Yalḳ. l.c.).

His One Sin. The rabbis agree that Abner deserved this violent death, though opinions differ concerning the exact nature of the sin that entailed so dire a punishment on one who was, on the whole, considered a "righteous man" (Gen. R. lxxxii. 4). Some reproach him that he did not use his influence with Saul to prevent him from murdering the priests of Nob (Yer. Peah, i. 16a; Lev. R. xxvi. 2; Sanh. 20a)—convinced as he was of the innocence of the priests and of the propriety of their conduct toward David, Abner holding that as leader of the army David was privileged to avail himself of the Urim and Thummim (I Sam. xxii. 9–19). Instead of contenting himself with passive resistance to Saul's command to murder the priests (Yalḳ., Sam. 131), Abner ought to have tried to restrain the king. Others maintain that Abner did make such an attempt, but in vain, and that his one sin consisted in that he delayed the beginning of David's reign over Israel by fighting him after Saul's death for two years and a half (Sanh. l.c.). Others, again, while excusing him for this—in view of a tradition founded on Gen. xlix. 27, according to which there were to be two kings of the house of Benjamin—blame Abner for having prevented a reconciliation between Saul and David on the occasion when the latter, in holding up the skirt of Saul's robe (I Sam. xxiv. 11), showed how unfounded was the king's mistrust of him. Saul was inclined to be pacified; but Abner, representing to him that David might have found the piece of the garment anywhere—possibly caught on a thorn—prevented the reconciliation (Yer. Peah, l.c., Lev. R. l.c., and elsewhere). Moreover, it was wrong in Abner to permit Israelitish youths to kill one another for sport (II Sam. ii. 14–16). No reproach, however, attaches to him for the death of Asahel, since Abner killed him in self-defense (Sanh. 49a).

It is characteristic of the rabbinical view of the Bible narratives that Abner, the warrior pure and simple, is styled "Lion of the Law" (Yer. Peah, l.c.), and that even a specimen is given of a halakic discussion between him and Doeg as to whether the law in Deut. xxiii. 3 excluded Ammonite and Moabite women from the Jewish community as well as men. Doeg was of the opinion that David, being descended from the Moabitess Ruth, was not fit to wear the crown, nor even to be considered a true Israelite; while Abner maintained that the law affected only the male line of descent. When Doeg's dialectics proved more than a match for those of Abner, the latter went to the prophet Samuel, who not only supported Abner in his view, but utterly refuted Doeg's assertions (Midr. Sam. xxii.; Yeb. 76b et seq.).

One of the most prominent families (Ẓiẓit ha-Kesat) in Jerusalem in the middle of the first century of the common era claimed descent from Abner (Gen. R. xcviii.).

Tomb of Abner
The site known as the Tomb of Abner is located not far from the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and receives visitors throughout the year. Many travelers have recorded visiting the tomb over the centuries. Benjamin of Tudela, who began his journeys in 1165, wrote in the journal, "The valley of Eshkhol is north of the mountain upon which Hebron stood, and the cave of Makhpela is east thereof. A bow-shot west of the cave is the sepulchre of Abner the son of Ner."

A rabbi in the 12th century records visiting the tomb as reprinted in Elkan Nathan Adler's book Jewish Travellers in the Middle Ages: 19 Firsthand Accounts. The account states, "I, Jacob, the son of R. Nathaniel ha Cohen, journeyed with much difficulty, but God helped me to enter the Holy Land, and I saw the graves of our righteous Patriarchs in Hebron and the grave of Abner the son of Ner." Adler postulates that the visit must have occurred prior to Saladin's capture of Jerusalem in 1187.

Rabbi Moses Basola records visiting the tomb in 1522. He states, "Abner's grave is in the middle of Hebron; the Muslims built a mosque over it." Another visitor in the 1500s states that "at the entrance to the market in Hebron, at the top of the hill against the wall, Abner ben Ner is buried, in a church, in a cave." This visit was recorded in Sefer Yihus ha-Tzaddiqim (Book of Genealogy of the Righteous), a collection of travelogues from 1561. Abraham Moshe Lunz reprinted the book in 1896.

Menahem Mendel of Kamenitz, considered the first hotelier in the Land of Israel, wrote about the Tomb of Abner is his 1839 book Korot Ha-Itim, which was translated into English as The Book of the Occurrences of the Times to Jeshurun in the Land of Israel. He states, "Here I write of the graves of the righteous to which I paid my respects. Hebron – Described above is the character and order of behavior of those coming to pray at the Cave of ha-Machpelah. I went there, between the stores, over the grave of Avner ben Ner and was required to pay a Yishmaeli – the grave was in his courtyard – to allow me to enter."

The author and traveler J. J. Benjamin mentioned visiting the tomb in his book Eight Years in Asia and Africa (1859, Hanover). He states, "On leaving the Sepulchre of the Patriarchs, and proceeding on the road leading to the Jewish quarter, to the left of the courtyard, is seen a Turkish dwelling house, by the side of which is a small grotto, to which there is a descent of several steps. This is the tomb of Abner, captain of King Saul. It is held in much esteem by the Arabs, and the proprietor of it takes care that it is always kept in the best order. He requires from those who visit it a small gratuity."

The British scholar Israel Abrahams wrote in his 1912 book The Book of Delight and Other Papers, "Hebron was the seat of David's rule over Judea. Abner was slain here by Joab, and was buried here – they still show Abner's tomb in the garden of a large house within the city. By the pool at Hebron were slain the murderers of Ishbosheth..." Over the years the tomb fell into disrepair and neglect. It was closed to the public in 1994. In 1996, a group of 12 Israeli women filed a petition with the Supreme Court requesting the government to reopen the Tomb of Abner. More requests were made over the years and eventually arrangements were made to have the site open to the general public on ten days throughout the year corresponding to the ten days that the Isaac Hall of the Cave of the Patriarchs is open. In early 2007 new mezuzot were affixed to the entrance of the site.

In popular culture

 * 1960, David and Goliath (film) – Abner is portrayed by Massimo Serato. In this version, Abner tries to murder David (Ivica Pajer) when he returns in triumph after killing Goliath. However, here Abner is slain by King Saul (Orson Welles).
 * 1961, A Story of David (film) – Abner is portrayed by Welsh actor David Davies.
 * 1976, The Story of David (television series) – Younger version of Abner is portrayed by Israeli actor Yehuda Efroni. Older version of Abner is portrayed by British actor Brian Blessed.
 * 1985, King David (film) – Abner is portrayed by English actor John Castle. King David portrayed by Richard Gere.
 * 1997, King David (musical) – written by Tim Rice and Alan Menken. Abner is portrayed by American actor Timothy Shew.
 * 1997, David (television drama) – Abner is portrayed by Richard Ashcroft.
 * 2009, Kings (television series) – Abner portrayed by Wes Studi as General Linus Abner. The series is set in a multi-ethnic Western culture similar to that in the present-day United States, but with characters drawn from the Bible.
 * 2012, Rei Davi (Brazilian television series) – Abner is portrayed by Iran Malfitano.

title: Abner