Chapter 1

Question 1

Chemical Name:

Answer 1

A drug name that is derived from the specific chemical structure of the compound. Chemical names are not used clinically but are shortened in some way to form the drug’s generic name

Question 2

Controlled Substances:

Answer 2

Drugs designated by the federal government as having increased potential for abuse and illegal use. These substances are grouped into five categories (schedules), with schedule I substances having the highest abuse potential and schedule V substances having a relatively low potential for abuse

Question 3

Dose-Response Curve

Answer 3

The relationship between incremental doses of a drug and the magnitude of the reaction that those doses will cause

Question 4

Generic Name

Answer 4

The name applied to a drug, which is not protected by a trademark; usually a shortened version of the drug’s chemical name (SYN: nonproprietary name)

Question 5

Median Effective Dose (ED50)

Answer 5

The drug dose that produces a specific therapeutic response in 50% of the patients win whom it is tested

Question 6

Median Lethal Dose (LD50)

Answer 6

The drug dose that causes death in 50% of the experimental animals in which it is tested

Question 7

Median Toxic Dose (TD50)

Answer 7

The drug dose that produces a specific adverse (toxic) response in 50% of the patients in whom it is tested

Question 8

Nonproprietary Name:

Answer 8

A drug name that usually a shortened version of the drug’s chemical name and is recognized as the standard name for that drug regardless of the drug’s trade or brand names (SYN: generic name)

Question 9

Off-Label Prescribing

Answer 9

A drug is prescribed to treat conditions other than those approved by the FDA

Question 10

Orphan Drugs

Answer 10

Drugs that are designed and approved to treat rare diseases. Because these drugs are only used in a small patient population (usually less than 200,000), financial and other incentives are often provided by various sources to encourage a drug company to develop and market the drug

Question 11

Over-the-Counter Drugs (OTC)

Answer 11

Drugs that can be purchased directly by the consumer without a prescription (SYN: nonprescription drugs)

Question 12

Pharmacodynamics

Answer 12

The study of how drugs affect the body - that is, the physiological and biochemical mechanisms of drug action

Question 13

Pharmacogenetics

Answer 13

The study of how genetic variability can influence drug responses and metabolism

Question 14

Pharmacokinestics

Answer 14

The study of how the body handles drugs - that is, the manner in which drugs are absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted

Question 15

Pharmacotherapeutics

Answer 15

The study of how drugs are used in the prevention and treatment of disease

Question 16

Pharmacy

Answer 16

The professional discipline dealing with the preparation and dispensing of medications

Question 17

Potency

Answer 17

The dose of a drug that produces a given response in a specific amplitude. When two drugs are compared, the more potent drug will produce a given response at a lower dose

Question 18

Therapeutic Index (TI)

Answer 18

A ratio used to represent the relative safety of a particular drug; the larger the TI, the safer the drug. It is calculated as the median toxic dose divided by the median effective dose. (In animal trials, the median lethal dose is often substituted for the median toxic dose)

Question 19

Toxicology

Answer 19

The study of the harmful effects of drugs and other chemicals

Question 20

Trade Name

Answer 20

The name given to a drug by the pharmaceutical company; it is protected by a trademark and used by the company for marketing the drug (SYN: brand name or proprietary name)