Exam 1 study guide Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Cell Injury: Key Concepts for Healthcare

What is pharmacokinetics?

The study of what the BODY does to the DRUG.

What is pharmacodynamics?

The study of what the DRUG does to the BODY.

What does ADME stand for?

Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion.

What is absorption in pharmacology?

The process by which a drug enters the bloodstream, affected by route, food, and formulation.

What factors affect drug distribution?

Blood flow, body fat, body water, and protein binding.

Where does metabolism mainly occur?

In the liver.

What is the primary organ for drug excretion?

The kidneys.

What is the first-pass effect?

The phenomenon where an oral drug is metabolized in the liver before reaching systemic circulation.

What does bioavailability mean?

The proportion of a drug that enters the circulation unchanged.

What is protein binding in pharmacology?

The attachment of drugs to proteins like albumin, affecting drug availability.

What can low albumin levels indicate?

A larger free-drug fraction and greater toxicity risk.

What is the significance of half-life in pharmacology?

The time needed for the concentration of a drug to decrease by half.

What is an agonist?

A substance that activates a receptor.

What is an antagonist?

A substance that blocks receptor activation.

What is a partial agonist?

A substance that activates a receptor but produces a smaller maximum response.

What is a contraindication?

A condition that makes using a drug unsafe.

What does tolerance mean in pharmacology?

A condition where the same dose of a drug produces less effect over time.

What is the difference between chemical, generic, and brand names?

Chemical name describes the structure, generic name is the common name, and brand name is the trademarked name.

What is medication reconciliation?

The process of comparing medication lists to identify omissions, duplications, and differences.

What is an adverse drug reaction?

A harmful or unwanted response to a drug at a usual therapeutic dose.

What is a teratogenic effect?

Harm to fetal development caused by a drug.

What is polypharmacy?

The concurrent use of multiple medications.

What are the nine rights of medication administration?

Right patient, drug, dose, time, route and form, documentation, reason, response, and the right to refuse.

What is the purpose of acute therapy?

To treat an immediate problem.

What does beneficence mean in medical ethics?

The obligation to promote good.

What is the role of a qualified interpreter in patient education?

To ensure clear communication when needed.

What does the term 'malpractice' encompass?

Duty, breach of duty, causation, and harm.

What is the main job of the nucleus in a cell?

Contains DNA and directs cell activity.

What is the function of mitochondria?

Produce most cellular ATP.

What do ribosomes do?

Make proteins.

What is the role of lysosomes?

Break down waste and damaged material.

What does the cell membrane control?

What enters and leaves the cell.

What is ATP?

Usable energy for the cell.

What is diffusion?

Particles move from higher to lower concentration without requiring ATP.

What is osmosis?

Water moves across a selectively permeable membrane toward more nonpenetrating solute without requiring ATP.

What is active transport?

Energy moves substances, often against their gradient, requiring ATP.

What is homeostasis?

Keeping internal conditions relatively stable.

Define atrophy.

Cells get smaller, such as muscle shrinking with disuse.

Define hypertrophy.

Cells get bigger, such as muscle enlarging with training.

What is hyperplasia?

More cells due to hormonal stimulation.

What is dysplasia?

Abnormal cell size, shape, or arrangement.

What is apoptosis?

Controlled, programmed cell death.

What is necrosis?

Cell death caused by injury, usually with inflammation.

What is the difference between hypoxia and ischemia?

Hypoxia is not enough oxygen in tissues; ischemia is not enough blood flow.

What is a diploid cell?

A cell with two chromosome sets, normally 46 chromosomes in human body cells.

What is a haploid cell?

A cell with one set of chromosomes, normally 23 in eggs or sperm.

Define genotype.

Genetic makeup of an organism.

What is phenotype?

Observable traits influenced by genes and environment.

What is nondisjunction?

Failure of chromosomes to separate correctly during cell division.

What is aneuploidy?

An extra or missing chromosome.

What is the inheritance pattern of autosomal dominant conditions?

One altered copy can cause the condition, e.g., Huntington disease.

What is the inheritance pattern of X-linked recessive conditions?

Often affects males because they have one X chromosome, e.g., Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

What is the karyotype?

An organized picture of chromosomes.

What does pharmacogenetics study?

How gene differences affect responses to medications.

What does the suffix '-ectomy' mean?

Surgical removal.

What does the prefix 'brady-' mean?

Slow.