Fundamental Pharmacology

Question 1

DRUG

Answer 1

is a chemical substance used for: Preventing, treating or diagnosing disease Preventing pregnancy Recreational or other forms of abuse

Question 2

Pharmacology is the study of drugs and is divided into:

Answer 2

PHARMACODYNAMICS: what drugs do to the body
PHARMACOKINETICS: what the body does to drugs and how fast it does it (e.g. absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion)

Question 3

PHARMACOTHERAPEUTICS:

Answer 3

Treatment of disease by drugs.

• Palliative (most drugs)
• Curative (some drugs)

Question 4

Pharmacy

Answer 4

is the profession responsible for dispensing drugs

Question 5

Drugs that Prevent:

Answer 5

Vaccines
Anticoagulants
Antiseptics

Question 6

Drugs that Diagnose:

Answer 6

Radiographic contrast media (e.g. barium)

Mydriatics for dilating pupil in ophthalmic exams

Question 7

Drugs that Treat:

Answer 7

Palliative (most drugs): 
Nasal Decongestants
Antihypertensives
Anxiolytics
Analgesics

Curative:
Antibiotics
Antineoplastics

Question 8

PHARMACOKINETIC & PHARMACODYNAMIC STEPS

Answer 8

(Pharmacokinetic steps)
Administration Absorption Distribution
(pharmacodynamic steps)
Receptor Agonism or Receptor Antagonism
(pharmacokinetic steps)
Redistribution Metabolism Excretion

Question 9

Most drugs have common characteristics.

Answer 9

Most drugs are organic compounds.
Most drugs originated from natural sources, but are synthesized for commercial purposes.
Most drugs have three names (Chemical name, Generic (official) name, Trade (proprietary) name)
All drugs have side effects

Question 10

Formulations

Answer 10

Tablets
Capsules
Pills?
Pearls
Solutions
Suspensions
Ointments
Tinctures
Salves

Question 11

Fact 3: There are multiple formulations and routes of administration

Routes of Administration

Answer 11

Enteral (Oral, Rectal)

Parenteral (Sublingual, Intramuscular, Intravenous, Subcutaneous, Intrathecal, Topical, Transdermal)

Question 12

Fundamental Pharmacology Fact 4:

Drug absorption and Drug distribution are determined by:

Answer 12

• Drug molecular size.
• Drug solubility (non-polar/high lipid solubility = higher solubility)
• Conditions (i.e. blood flow, cell junctions, inflammation) at site of tissues to be penetrated by drug.

Question 13

Drug absorption

Answer 13

passage of drug from site of administration into bloodstream

Question 14

Drug distribution

Answer 14

passage of drug from bloodstream to site of action

Question 15

Drug molecular size.

Answer 15

(Small molecules are absorbed and distributed more freely than large because they can squeeze between cells and pass through membrane pores.)

Question 16

Drug solubility.

Answer 16

(Lipid soluble molecules are absorbed and distributed more freely than water soluble molecules because they can dissolve in the phospholipid layer of the cell membrane and filter through the protein layer. Highly lipid soluble drugs must often attach to water soluble plasma proteins to be transported in the aqueous blood stream.)

Question 17

Conditions

Answer 17

(i.e. blood flow, cell junctions, inflammation) at site of tissues to be penetrated by drug. The blood-brain barrier provides an example of conditions that limit drug absorption and distribution.

Question 18

Fundamental Pharmacology Fact 5:

Most drugs act on receptors and there are several descriptions of their actions.

Answer 18

Drugs that activate receptors are AGONISTS.

Drugs that block receptors are ANTAGONISTS.

Question 19

Measures of desirable drug actions include:

Answer 19

• Potency: Dose required to produce minimum response.

- Efficacy: Maximum magnitude of response.

Question 20

Measures of drug toxicity

Answer 20

• Margin of Safety: Difference between toxic & effective dose.
• Therapeutic Index: Ratio of toxic & effective dose.

Question 21

Measures of drug longevity

Answer 21

• Duration of Action: Amount of time that drug acts.

- Half-life: Time required for ½ of drug to be eliminated.

Question 22

Drug Efficacy, Potency and Toxicity

Answer 22

A drug is efficacious when it produces a large effect, potent when a small amount produces an effect and toxic when the effective dose and the lethal dose are similar.

Question 23

Fundamental Pharmacology Fact 6: Drug actions are ended in three ways.

Answer 23

Redistribution
Metabolism
Excretion

Question 24

Redistribution of a drug

Answer 24

The drug is carried away form the site of action, usually by blood flow.

Most often swept away by blood flow, but lymph, and other extracellular fluids may redistribute drugs from site of action.

Question 25

Metabolism of a drug

Answer 25

The drug is modified to make it less active or more readily excreted.

The liver is the major organ of drug metabolism, but drugs are metabolized in almost all organs of the body including lungs, g.i. tract, synapses and blood stream. There are two phases of drug metabolism. Phase 1 uses oxidation and reduction and other reactions to produce a more polar metabolite. Phase 2 uses conjugation reactions to produce a metabolite that is larger.

Question 26

Excretion of a drug

Answer 26

The drug is (or its metabolite) is removed from the body.

The kidney is the major organ for drug excretion, but the lungs, liver, sweat, saliva are also vehicles of excretion.