Terminologies in Introduction to Pharmacology

Question 1

Absorption

Answer 1

The first stage of pharmacokinetics: medications enter the body and travel from site of administration into the body’s circulation.

Question 2

Adverse Effect

Answer 2

An unintended and potentially dangerous pharmacological effect that occurs when a medication is administered correctly.

Question 3

Affinity

Answer 3

The extent or fraction to which a drug binds to receptors at any given drug concentration or the firmness with which the drug binds to the receptor.

Question 4

Agonist

Answer 4

A drug that binds to a “receptor” and produces an effect.

Question 5

Antagonist

Answer 5

A molecule that prevents the action of other molecules, often by competing for a cellular receptor; opposite of agonist.

Question 6

Bioavailability

Answer 6

The presence of a drug in the blood stream after it is administered.

Question 7

Blood-Brain Barrier

Answer 7

A nearly impenetrable barricade that is built from a tightly woven mesh of capillaries cemented together to protect the brain from potentially dangerous substances such as poisons or viruses.

Question 8

Distribution

Answer 8

The second stage of pharmacokinetics; the process by which medication is distributed throughout the body.

Question 9

Distribution

Answer 9

The second stage of pharmacokinetics; the process by which medication is distributed throughout the body.

Question 10

Dose-Response

Answer 10

As the dose of a drug increases, the response should also increase. The slope of the curve is characteristic of the particular drug-receptor interaction.

Question 11

Efficacy

Answer 11

The maximum effect of which the drug is capable.

Question 12

Excretion

Answer 12

The final stage of pharmacokinetics; the process whereby drug byproducts and metabolites are eliminated from the body.

Question 13

First Pass Effect

Answer 13

The inactivation of orally or enterally administered drugs in the liver and intestines.

Question 14

Mechanism of Action

Answer 14

How a medication works at a cellular level within the body.

Question 15

Metabolism

Answer 15

The breakdown of a drug molecule via enzymes in the liver (primarily) or intestines (secondarily).

Question 16

Onset

Answer 16

When a medication first begins to work and exerts a therapeutic effect.

Question 17

Peak

Answer 17

When the maximum concentration of a drug is in the bloodstream.

Question 18

Side Effect

Answer 18

Effect of a drug, other than the desired effect, sometimes in an organ other than the target organ.

Question 19

Therapeutic Index

Answer 19

A quantitative measurement of the relative safety of a drug that compares the amount of drug that produces a therapeutic effect versus the amount of drug that produces a toxic effect. Medication with a large therapeutic index is safer than a medication with a small therapeutic index.

Question 20

Therapeutic Window

Answer 20

The dosing window in which the safest and most effective treatment will occur.