Pharm: Ch 2 Basic Concepts and Processes Key Terms

Question 1

process that occurs from the time a drug enters the body to the time it enters the bloodstream to be circulated

Answer 1

Absorption

Question 2

any undesired responses to medication administration

Answer 2

Adverse effects

Question 3

drug that produces effects similar to those produced by naturally occurring hormones, neurotransmitters, and other substances

Answer 3

Agonist

Question 4

drug that inhibits cell function by occupying receptor sites

Answer 4

Antagonist

Question 5

substance that relieves, prevents, or counteracts the effect of a poison

Answer 5

Antidote

Question 6

portion of a drug dose that reaches the systemic circulation and is available to act on body cells

Answer 6

Bioavailability

Question 7

when drugs are altered from their original form into a new form by the body; also referred to as metabolism

Answer 7

Biotransformation (Metabolism)

Question 8

Drug distribution into the central nervous system (CNS) is limited because the blood–brain barrier, composed of capillaries with tight walls, limits the movement of drug molecules into brain tissue. Only drugs that are lipid soluble or have a transport system can cross the blood–brain barrier and reach therapeutic concentrations in brain tissue.

Answer 8

Blood-brain barrier

Question 9

transport of drug molecules within the body; after a drug is injected or absorbed into the bloodstream, it is carried by the blood and tissue fluids to its sites of action, metabolism, and excretion

Answer 9

Distribution

Question 10

Frequency, size, and number of doses- major determinants of drug actions and responses, both therapeutic and adverse.

Answer 10

Dosage

Question 11

drugs or metabolites that are excreted in bile, reabsorbed from the small intestine, returned to the liver, metabolized, and eventually excreted in urine

Answer 11

Enterohepatic recirculation

Question 12

production of larger amounts of drug-metabolizing enzymes by liver cells; process accelerates drug metabolism because larger amounts of the enzymes (and more binding sites) allow larger amounts of a drug to be metabolized during a given time

Answer 12

Enzyme induction

Question 13

process in which a molecule binds to enzymes and inhibits their activity

Answer 13

Enzyme inhibition

Question 14

elimination of a drug from the body; effective excretion requires adequate functioning of the circulatory system and of the organs of excretion (kidneys, bowel, lungs, and skin)

Answer 14

Excretion

Question 15

initial metabolism of some oral drugs as they are carried from the intestine to the liver by the portal circulatory system prior to reaching the systemic circulation for distribution to site of action

Answer 15

First-pass effect

Question 16

immune-mediated reaction to a drug

Answer 16

Hypersensitivity

Question 17

dose larger than the regular prescribed daily dosage of a medication; used to attain a therapeutic blood level

Answer 17

Loading dose

Question 18

quantity of drug that is needed to keep blood levels and/or tissue levels at a steady state or constant level

Answer 18

Maintenance dose

Question 19

toxic or damaging effect of a substance on the kidney; potentially serious because renal damage interferes with drug excretion, causing drug accumulation and increased adverse effects

Answer 19

Nephrotoxicity

Question 20

the study of how a person’s genetic heritage leads to variable responses to drugs; more generally refers to genetic polymorphisms that occur in a patient population, such as an ethnic group, as opposed to an individual person

Answer 20

Pharmacogenomics

Question 21

reactions between living systems and drugs; drug actions on target cells and the resulting alterations in cellular biochemical reactions and functions

Answer 21

Pharmacodynamics

Question 22

drug movement through the body to reach sites of action, metabolism, and excretion

Answer 22

Pharmacokinetics

Question 23

the occurrence of two or more clearly different forms (or phenotypes) in a species important in drug therapy because it explains the functionally different response to drugs in a general patient population or a specific individual

Answer 23

Polymorphism

Question 24

initially inactive drugs that exert no pharmacologic effects until they are metabolized

Answer 24

Prodrugs

Question 25

Drug molecules bound to plasma proteins (mostly Albumin) are pharmacologically inactive because the complex’s large size prevents them from leaving the bloodstream through the small openings in capillary walls and reaching their sites of action, metabolism, and excretion.

Answer 25

Protein binding

Question 26

laboratory measurement of the amount of a drug in the blood at a particular time

Answer 26

Serum drug level

Question 27

time required for the serum concentration of a drug to decrease by 50%; also called elimination half-life

Answer 27

Serum half-life