Pharmacology Definitions

Question 1

pharmacokinetics

Answer 1

study of what the body does to a drug (4 phases: absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion)

Question 2

absorption

Answer 2

movement of a drug from site of administration into the blood, affected by route of administration

Question 3

distribution

Answer 3

transport of a drug in the body by blood to the site of action

Question 4

metabolism

Answer 4

also called biotransformation, alteration of a drug into an inactive metabolite, mostly done by liver

Question 5

excretion

Answer 5

process through which drugs are eliminated/removed from body, mainly done by kidneys

Question 6

pharmacodynamics

Answer 6

what a drug does to the body

Question 7

frequency distribution curve

Answer 7

graph - shows the variation in a drug response in a population

Question 8

median effective dose

Answer 8

dose required to achieve desired outcome in 50% of population

Question 9

median lethal dose

Answer 9

dose required to get 50% mortality from toxicity

Question 10

therapeutic index

Answer 10

ration between toxic and therapeutic concentration of a drug, indicative of safety (low index means little difference between a therapeutic and toxic dose)

Question 11

median toxicity dose

Answer 11

dose required for 50% of population to report specific toxic dose

Question 12

graded dose response

Answer 12

when dose increases, response will also increase

Question 13

potency

Answer 13

amount of drug to produce an effect

Question 14

efficacy

Answer 14

producing a desired effect

Question 15

receptor

Answer 15

cellular macromolecule to which medication binds in order to initiate its effects

Question 16

agonist

Answer 16

drug that produces same type of response as the endogenous substance

Question 17

antagonist

Answer 17

drug that occupies a receptor and prevents the endogenous chemical from acting

Question 18

pharmacogenetics

Answer 18

development of drugs specific to an individual’s genes

Question 19

equinalagesic conversion

Answer 19

chart/table showing equivalent doses of analgesics (for different drugs and different routes)

Question 20

bioavailability

Answer 20

measure of extent a drug is absorbed

Question 21

What is the first-pass effect?

Answer 21

drugs absorbed via GI tract pass through the liver and are metabolized before entering systemic circulation, this decreases bioavailability

Question 22

onset

Answer 22

time it takes for drug to elicit a therapeutic response

Question 23

duration

Answer 23

length of time drug concentration is sufficient to elicit therapeutic response

Question 24

peak

Answer 24

time required for drug to reach maximal therapeutic response

Question 25

half life

Answer 25

time it takes for 1/2 of given amount of a drug to be excreted

Question 26

pregnancy category A

Answer 26

studies indicate no risk to human fetus

Question 27

pregnancy category B

Answer 27

no risk to animal fetus, no human info

Question 28

pregnancy category C

Answer 28

adverse effects in animals, no human info

Question 29

pregnancy category D

Answer 29

possible fetal risk in humans reported but benefit may outweigh risk for some

Question 30

pregnancy category X

Answer 30

fetal abnormalities reported, positive evidence of risk