Chapter 9 - Skeletal Muscle Relaxants

Question 1

black box warning (boxed warning):

Answer 1

a warning that appears in the instructions for use surrounded by a thick black box to alert medical professionals to serious or life-threatening adverse effects associated with the drug usage.

Question 2

centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxant:

Answer 2

drug that inhibits skeletal muscle contraction by blocking conduction within the spinal cord.

Question 3

depolarizing blocker:

Answer 3

produces paralysis by first causing nerve transmission, followed by inhibition of nerve transmission.

Question 4

fasciculation:

Answer 4

twitchings of muscle fiber groups.

Question 5

hyperthermia:

Answer 5

abnormally high body temperature.

Question 6

incompatibility:

Answer 6

undesirable interaction of drugs not suitable for combination or administration together.

Question 7

intrathecal:

Answer 7

space around the brain and spinal cord that contains the cerebrospinal fluid.

Question 8

malignant hyperthermia:

Answer 8

condition in susceptible individuals resulting in a life-threatening elevation in body temperature.

Question 9

microfilaments:

Answer 9

minute fibers located throughout the cytoplasm of cells, composed of the protein actin, that maintain the structural integrity of a cell.

Question 10

mitochondria:

Answer 10

normal structures responsible for energy production in cells.

Question 11

myelin:

Answer 11

the fatty substance that covers and protects nerves and allows efficient conduction of action potentials
down the axon.

Question 12

neuromuscular junction (NMJ):

Answer 12

space (synapse) between a motor nerve ending and a skeletal muscle membrane that contains acetylcholine (ACH) receptors.

Question 13

nicotinic-muscle (Nm) receptor:

Answer 13

cholinergic receptor located at the neuromuscular junction of skeletal muscle.

Question 14

nondepolarizing blocker:

Answer 14

produces paralysis by inhibiting nerve transmission.

Question 15

peripheral skeletal muscle relaxant:

Answer 15

drug that inhibits muscle contraction at the neuromuscular junction or within the contractile process.

Question 16

potentiates:

Answer 16

produces an action that is greater than either of the components can produce alone; synergy.

Question 17

sarcolemma:

Answer 17

a thin membrane enclosing a striated (skeletal) muscle fiber.

Question 18

sarcoplasm:

Answer 18

the cytoplasm of a striated (skeletal) muscle fiber

Question 19

sarcoplasmic reticulum:

Answer 19

specialized organelle in the muscle cell that releases calcium ions during muscle contraction and absorbs calcium ions during relaxation.

Question 20

Schwann cell:

Answer 20

any cell that covers the axons in the peripheral nervous system and forms the myelin sheath.

Question 21

spasmolytics:

Answer 21

drugs that relieve, interrupt, or prevent muscle spasms (intermittent muscle contractions often associated with pain).

Question 22

synaptic knob:

Answer 22

contains vesicles that store and release neurotransmitters

Question 23

synaptic vesicles:

Answer 23

a small membrane-bound structure in the axon terminals of nerve cells that contains neurotransmitters and releases them when an action potential reaches the terminal.

Question 24

vagolytic action:

Answer 24

inhibition of the vagus nerve to the heart, causing the heart rate to increase (counteraction to vagal tone that causes bradycardia).

Question 25

vasodilator:

Answer 25

substance that relaxes the muscles (sphincters) controlling blood vessels, leading to increased
blood flow.