Pharmacology 2 Flashcards
What is a drug?
- An external substance that acts on living tissue to produce a measurable change in the function of that tissue
- Very broad definition - use of drug is a very broad phrase
What are side effects of drugs?
- Effects you want and effects you don’t want (the drug just does what it does - it will always do the same)
- It is not really a side effect - it is just something that the drug will do, some are advantageous and some are not
What is the most commonly used drug in dentistry?
- LA
What is the function of local anaesthetic in dentistry?
- Prevent pain
What is the function of antimicrobials in dentistry?
- Treat and prevent infections
What is the function of anxiolytics?
- Reduces anxiety
What is the function of analgesics?
- Drug that provides pain relief (reduces postoperative pain)
Medical drug use may affect dental care. Why is this?
- Medication patients are on may affect what you can give to the patient
What can drugs do in respect to body communications?
- Can stimulate or interrupt normal body communications
What can drugs do in relation to non-host organisms?
- Can act on non-host organisms to aid body defences
- Antimicrobials slow down the action of the organisms so that the host can get on top of it and own body defences can do their job properly
- They work at a cellular level to continually disrupt and prevent the growth of microorganisms
What are the 2 ways in which chemical messages can be sent round the body?
- Hormones
- Neural messages
- Both can be stimulated or interrupted
What do hormone messages send round the body?
- General information to ALL tissues
What do neural messages send round the body?
- Targeted info for SPECIFIC tissues
Give 4 examples of common hormones in the body?
- Thyroid hormone
- Insulin
- Cortisol
- Sex hormones
What is cortisol?
The principal hormone secreted by the adrenal glands. It is a potent anti-inflammatory agent and is used for the palliative treatment of a number of conditions, including itching caused by dermatitis or insect bites, inflammation associated with arthritis or ulcerative colitis and diseases of the adrenal glands
What is the function of thyroid hormones?
- Balances body’s metabolism
- Too much = hyperthyroidism
- Too little = hypothyroidism