Pharmacology - Boissonnault Readings

Question 1

Amount of interaction or binding power a given drug has for its receptor site. Some degree of attraction must be inherent in the drug for it to bind to a receptor

Answer 1

Affinity

Question 2

Drug with affinity that can elicit a pharmacologic response. The pharmacologic action generally is stimulation, but inhibition may also be the action

Answer 2

Agonist

Question 3

Drug with affinity (binds to the receptor) but that does not produce an inherent action

Answer 3

Antagonist

Question 4

Measure of the completeness of absorption combined with a measure of the amount of a drug that reaches the target organ

Answer 4

Bioavailability

Question 5

Time in which the pharmacologic response decreases to 1/2 of its original effect

Answer 5

Biologic Half-Life

Question 6

Sieve through which a drug must pass from the cerebral circulation into the brain cells to exert a pharmacologic effect in the CNS

Answer 6

Blood-brain barrier

Question 7

Capacity to produce an effect for a given occupied receptor. The term describes how well a drug works or the maximum response to a drug.

Answer 7

Efficacy

Question 8

Time in which the plasma concentration of a drug decreases to 1/2 of its original amount

Answer 8

Elimination half life

Question 9

Study of the action of any chemical on a living system. The methodology of the field relies heavily on physiology and biochemistry

Answer 9

Pharmacology

Question 10

Rapid extraction and metabolism of a drug by the liver, blocking all of the drug or greatly minimizing the amount of drug available in the systemic circulation

Answer 10

First-pass effect

Question 11

Study of the use of drugs in the treatment, prevention, and diagnosis of disease. This aspect of pharmacology correlates pharmacodynamics with the pathophysiology of the clinical issue and applies principles of rigorous patient monitoring.

Answer 11

Pharmacotherapeutics

Question 12

Monitoring of the safety profile (side effects) of medications to protect the patient. It applies the aspect of watchfulness in protection the patient’s safety from untoward conditions with the use of medications

Answer 12

Pharmacovigilance

Question 13

Amount of drug required to produce a given effect relative to a standard. The amount of drug usually is not important clinically

Answer 13

Potency

Question 14

Condition in which the amount of drug eliminated is equal to the amount administered, and the plasma levels oscillate around the mean. This is one of the goals of drug therapy for the clinician.

Answer 14

Steady-state level

Question 15

Rapidly developing tolerance that prevents the desired pharmacologic effect from being achieved. Rebound congestion that occurs with a nasal decongestant is an example.

Answer 15

Tachyphylaxis

Question 16

Clinical situation in which increasing amounts of drug are required to produce the same pharmacologic effect, or the situation in which the same dose of the drug on repeated occasions produces a less intense pharmacologic effect

Answer 16

Tolerance