PRELIMS: Basic Principles of Pharmacology

Question 1

Study of the effects of drugs on the living system.

Answer 1

Pharmacology

Question 2

Area of pharmacology that deals with the use of specific drugs to prevent, treat, or diagnose a disease.

Answer 2

Pharmacotherapeutics

Question 3

Area of pharmacology that deals with the genetic basis for variations in drug response.

Answer 3

Pharmacogenetics

Question 4

A chemical substance of known structure that, when administered to a living organism, produces biological effects.

Answer 4

Drug

Question 4

Drugs that inhibit the angiotensin-converting enzyme, used to treat hypertension and heart failure. Examples include Captopril, Enalapril, Lisinopril.

Answer 4

ACE Inhibitors

Question 5

A model drug that exemplifies the characteristics of a drug class.

Answer 5

Drug Prototype

Question 6

Drugs that can be bought without a prescription.

Answer 6

Over-the-Counter Medications

Question 6

The use of a drug for conditions other than those for which it was originally approved.

Answer 6

Off-label Prescription

Question 6

Molecular formula of a drug, such as N-acetyl-aminophenol.

Answer 6

Chemical name

Question 7

Drugs with the highest potential for abuse and no accepted medical use, such as LSD and heroin.

Answer 7

Schedule I Controlled Substances

Question 7

The transformation of lipid-soluble drugs into water-soluble compounds to make them easier to excrete.

Answer 7

Metabolism

Question 8

The route of drug administration that is safe, easy, and convenient.

Answer 8

Oral Administration

Question 8

The main disadvantage of this route is that the drug must be absorbed through the oral mucosa.

Answer 8

Sublingual and Buccal Administration

Question 8

The ultimate goal when choosing a drug administration route is to ensure the drug reaches its target to exert its beneficial effect.

Answer 8

note

Question 8

The extent to which a drug reaches the systemic circulation.

Answer 8

Bioavailability

Question 9

What the body does to the drug, including absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.

Answer 9

Pharmacokinetics

Question 9

Factors affecting absorption include lipid solubility, molecular structure, surface area, pH of the drug, and blood flow.

Answer 9

Absorption Factors

Question 10

The process wherein an administered drug reaches the systemic circulation.

Answer 10

Absorption

Question 10

Final elimination of drugs from the body’s systemic circulation through urine, bile, sweat, tears, or breast milk.

Answer 10

Excretion

Question 11

First Pass Effect

Answer 11

: Metabolism of drugs that occurs prior to reaching systemic circulation, affecting bioavailability.

Question 11

The rate at which drug clearance occurs, not the amount of drug cleared.

Answer 11

Clearance

Question 11

Drugs that bind to the same receptor as an agonist but induce a pharmacological response opposite to that of the agonist.

Answer 11

Inverse Agonists

Question 12

Describes the extent of distribution of a drug in the body and determines the total amount of drug that has to be administered.

Answer 12

Volume of Distribution (Vd)

Question 13

The time needed for a drug plasma concentration to be reduced by 50%.

Answer 13

Half-life

Question 13

Main organs responsible for elimination of drugs from the body.

Answer 13

Liver and Kidneys

Question 14

What the drug does to the body, including efficacy and toxicity.

Answer 14

Pharmacodynamics

Question 14

Drugs that bind to receptors and activate them, causing a maximal response.

Answer 14

Full Agonists

Question 15

Drugs that bind to receptors but cannot produce a maximal response.

Answer 15

Partial Agonists

Question 15

Drugs that block the binding of agonists to receptors.

Answer 15

Antagonists

Question 16

Drugs that enhance or inhibit the action of an agonist by binding to a different region of the receptor.

Answer 16

Allosteric Modulators

Question 17

The range between the minimum therapeutic dose and the minimum toxic dose.

Answer 17

Therapeutic Window

Question 18

Synergistic Drug Interaction

Answer 18

When the effect of combined drugs is much larger than the sum of the two drugs.

Question 19

When two drugs given have almost the same mechanism of action, and the effect is merely the sum of the two drugs.

Answer 19

Additive Drug Interaction

Flashcard 23

Question 20

When a drug combined with another increases the response to the drug.

Answer 20

Potentiation

Question 21

When combined drugs tend to cancel each other’s effect.

Answer 21

Antagonism