Module 1 on pharmacology

Question 1

Adverse drug reaction

Answer 1

An unintended and undesirable response to a drug

Question 2

Clinical pharmacology

Answer 2

Pharmacology applied to the treatment of human patients; the study of drugs ‘at the bedside’

Question 3

Dose

Answer 3

The quantity of a drug to be administered at one time

Question 4

Dose form/formulation

Answer 4

Form in which the drug is administered – for example, as a tablet, injection, eyedrops or ointment

Question 5

Drug

Answer 5

A substance used to modify or explore the physiological system or pathological state for the benefit of the recipient

Question 6

Indication

Answer 6

An illness or disorder for which a drug has a documented specific usefulness

Question 7

Medicine

Answer 7

Drug(s) given for therapeutic purposes; possibly a mixture of drug(s) plus other substances to provide stability in the formulation; also, the branch of science devoted to the study, prevention and treatment of disease

Question 8

Pharmaceutics

Answer 8

The science of the preparation and dispensing of drugs

Question 9

Pharmacist

Answer 9

A person licensed to store, prepare, dispense and provide drugs, and to make up prescriptions

Question 10

Pharmacodynamics

Answer 10

What drugs do to the body and how they do it

Question 11

Pharmacokinetics

Answer 11

How the body affects a specific drug after administration; that is, how a drug is altered as it travels through the body (by absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion)

Question 12

Pharmacologist

Answer 12

A person who studies drugs: their source, nature, actions/mechanisms, uses, fate in the body, medical uses and toxicity

Question 13

Pharmacology

Answer 13

The study of drugs, including their actions and effects in living systems

Question 14

Pharmacopoeia

Answer 14

A reference book listing standards for drugs approved in a particular country; may also include details of standard formulations and prescribing guidelines (a formulary)

Question 15

Pharmacy

Answer 15

The branch of science dealing with preparing and dispensing drugs; also the place where a pharmacist carries out these roles

Question 16

Receptor

Answer 16

Protein structure on or within a cell or membrane that is capable of binding to a specific substance (e.g. a transmitter, hormone or drug), initiating chemical signalling and causing altered function in the cell

Question 17

Route

Answer 17

The pathway by which a drug is administered to the body; for example, in the oral route, the drug is taken by mouth and swallowed

Question 18

Side effect

Answer 18

A drug’s effect that is not necessarily the primary purpose for giving the drug in the particular condition; side effects may be desirable or undesirable. This term has been virtually superseded by the term ‘adverse drug reaction’, which is used throughout this book

Question 19

Toxicology

Answer 19

The study of the nature, properties, identification, effects and treatment of poisons, including the study of adverse drug reactions

Question 20

Cefa/o-

Answer 20

cephalosporins: ceftriaxone

Question 21

-artan

Answer 21

Angiotensin-II receptor antagonists: irbesartan

Question 22

-azepam

Answer 22

Benzodiazepenes: diazepam

Question 23

-Caine

Answer 23

local anaesthetics - lidocaine

Question 24

-Prazole

Answer 24

Proton Pump Inhibitors - pantoprazole

Question 25

-pril

Answer 25

Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibitors - Ramipril

Question 26

-dopa

Answer 26

Dopamine agonists: levodopa