Important Terms

Question 1

drug

Answer 1

any chemical that can affect living processes

Question 2

pharmacology

Answer 2

study of drugs and their interactions with living systems

Question 3

clinical pharmacology

Answer 3

study of drugs in humans

Question 4

therapeutics

Answer 4

use of drugs to diagnose, prevent, or treat disease or to prevent pregnancy

Question 5

biotransformation

Answer 5

drug metabolism, the chemical alteration of drug structure (most takes place in the liver)

Question 6

inhibitors

Answer 6

drugs that act on the liver to decrease rates of drug metabolism (slow metabolism can cause increase in active drug accumulation)

Question 7

first-pass effect

Answer 7

if capacity of the liver to metabolize a drug is extremely high, drug can be completely inactivated = no therapeutic effect
some drugs given parenterally because of this

Question 8

drug excretion

Answer 8

the removal of drugs from the body

Question 9

minimum effective concentration (MEC)

Answer 9

the plasma drug level below which therapeutic effects will not occur

Question 10

toxic concentration

Answer 10

the plasma level at which toxic effects begin

Question 11

therapeutic range

Answer 11

range of plasma drug levels between the MEC and toxic concentration

Question 12

drug half-life

Answer 12

the time required for the amount of drug in the body to decrease by 50%

Question 13

ED50

Answer 13

the dose that is required to produce a defined therapeutic response in 50% of the population (standard dose)