Cha. 3: A Brief Intro to Science of Pharmacology

Question 1

What is the difference between prime effects and side effects?

Answer 1

Prime Effects have to do with the effect that you want from taking the chemical while side effects are unwanted effects from chemical

Question 2

List the ways chemicals are administered.

Answer 2

Enteral
Parenteral
Intranasal
Inhalation

Question 3

Describe enteral forms of administration.

Answer 3

Entered through gastrointestinal tract (mouth, sublingual, and rectal)
* Capsule, tablet, liquid, sublingual (dissolves under tongue), inhaling, suppository

Question 4

Describe parenteral forms of administration.

Answer 4

Injection of a compound

• Subcutaneous: just under skin. Slowest
• Intramuscular Injection: into muscle tissue. Absorbed more rapidly than subcutaneous
• Intravenous (IV): into vein. Fastest way to get substance from site of admin to site of use

Question 5

Describe inhalation forms of administration.

Answer 5

Breathing the substance in heavily

* Whippit, computer cleaner, glue, marker, spray paint, any aerosol cans

Question 6

Describe intranasal forms of administration.

Answer 6

Snorting, similar to inhalation, but through nose

* Cocaine

Question 7

Define bioavailability.

Answer 7

Getting a chemical from the site of administration to the site of action

Question 8

The _____ is the most common site of action; why?

Answer 8

The brain because it is mostly composed of lipids (fats) and things get stored there easily. Also, many chemicals are lipid soluble chemicals.

Question 9

What is another organ that is composed of lipids primarily?

Answer 9

The bowels

Question 10

_____-soluble chemicals get flushed out eventually, leaving no real residue.

Answer 10

Water

Question 11

What are the primary organs in the body that primarily metabolize/bio-transform chemicals we put into our body?

Answer 11

The liver primarily then the kidneys.

Question 12

The liver transforms the chemical into a _____ after bio-transformation.

Answer 12

Metabolite

Question 13

List the ways chemicals leave the body.

Answer 13

Breathing
Sweating
Urinating

Question 14

A drug’s half life is composed of:

Answer 14

The elimination half-life and the therapeutic half-life.

Question 15

Define elimination half-life.

Answer 15

The amount of time it takes for your body to biotransform 1/2 of the active chemical in your system

Question 16

How many half-lives does it take to completely eliminate a chemical from the system?

Answer 16

Approximately 5 half-lives

Question 17

Define therapeutic half-life.

Answer 17

The measure of the chemical’s duration of effect

Question 18

Define effective dose.

Answer 18

How much of a dose it takes of a chemical to be effective on a certain population

Question 19

Define lethal dose.

Answer 19

How much of a specific chemical would kill a person.

Question 20

Define therapeutic index.

Answer 20

The ratio of lethal does to effective dose

• Valium’s effective dose is a long way from the lethal dose, which makes it almost impossible to kill a person from overdose
• Valium can be mixed with other chemicals to kill a person, though

Question 21

Define tolerance.

Answer 21

The need more and more of a given chemical to achieve a certain effect

• Alcohol: slowly
• Valium: quickly
• Even though a person’s tolerance to alcohol can build up, the lethal level of blood alcohol doesn’t change (true for most chemicals)
• Usually, the body will pass out prior, but tolerance allows person to stay awake and continue using, which leads to OD

Question 22

Define cross-tolerance.

Answer 22

If using a chemical, the person will develop tolerance to chemicals in the same broad grouping

• Anxiolytics: taking a lot of these will develop tolerance to alcohol
• Amphetamines to cocaine
• Cocaine to caffeine

Question 23

Define reverse-tolerance.

Answer 23

Much less understood; implies tolerance to a chemical can lead to sudden intolerance of the same chemical

• Tolerance to alcohol for years, all of a sudden unable to drink at all
• Not very common

Question 24

What is the blood-brain barrier?

Answer 24

Complex system that protects the person from things that shouldn’t be there
* Many (if not most) chemicals can cross this

Question 25

What is the placental barrier?

Answer 25

Protects the fetus from substances that might go into the fetus
* Many (if not most) chemicals can cross this