Applied Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetic Principles

Vocabulary-style practice flashcards covering fundamental pharmacokinetic principles, ADME, and drug physicochemical properties.

Pharmacokinetics

The study of what the body does to a drug, involving absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.

Pharmacodynamics

The understanding of how a drug works in the body and its various effects.

ADME

An acronym for the four main processes of pharmacokinetics: Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion.

Absorption

The passage of a drug through cell layers into the general circulation.

Distribution

The passage of drugs from blood through capillary tubes into extracellular fluids, cells, and tissues.

Metabolism

The passage of drugs into hepatic tissues, which serve as the specialized site of biotransformation.

Excretion

The passage of a drug through nephron units in the kidney for eventual removal from the body.

Applied Pharmacology

A branch of pharmacology that focuses on the application of concepts after administration.

Biotransformation

The process occurring in hepatic tissues where drugs are chemically altered into inactive or sometimes active products.

Liberation

The process of a drug being released from its dosage form, which happens more effectively in the intestines.

Portal vein

The vessel that carries absorbed drugs from the intestines to the liver.

Free portion

The drug fraction that is not attached to proteins and is able to move freely or be excreted by the kidneys.

Protein-bound drug

Drug molecules that are attached to large proteins and remain trapped within the blood compartment.

Proteins

Large molecules in the blood that can trap drugs, preventing them from reaching other tissues or being excreted.

Side-effects

Unwanted outcomes caused by a drug reaching an unintended site of action.

Therapeutic concentration

The desired amount of drug that must reach the site of action to achieve a beneficial effect.

Bioavailability ($F$)

The fraction of a drug that reaches the systemic circulation, often expressed as a value such as $10\%$ or a fraction of $1$.

First Pass Effect

A phenomenon where an oral drug is metabolized in the liver before it can reach systemic circulation.

Molecular weight

A physicochemical property of drugs where large molecules are noted for not readily crossing membranes.

Ionized

The charged state of a drug molecule which makes it harder to cross cell membranes.

Unionized

The uncharged state of a drug molecule that allows it to cross cell membranes more easily.

Lipid solubility

The degree to which ionized and nonionized forms of a drug can dissolve in fats, affecting membrane passage.

Weak acids

A chemical classification of many drugs whose charge at any moment is dependent on the pH of the medium.

Weak bases

A chemical classification for drugs that, like weak acids, have a charge determined by the pH of their environment.

pH

The measure of acidity or alkalinity of the medium in which a drug is dissolved, influencing its degree of ionization.

Henderson-Hasselbalch

A discussion or formula used to determine the relationship between the pH of a medium and the charge of a drug.

Hepatic tissues

The site within the liver where the process of metabolism and biotransformation takes place.

Nephron units

The functional units of the kidney through which drugs must pass to be removed from the body during excretion.

Extracellular fluids

The fluids outside of cells into which drugs pass from the blood through capillary tubes.

Systemic circulation

The general blood stream that a drug enters after passing through the liver during the absorption process.

Cell membranes

Barriers that drugs must permeate to reach their site of action, depending on properties like size, shape, and ionization.

Blood compartment

The area where drug molecules may be trapped if they become bound to large serum proteins.

Inactive products

The substance drugs are often metabolized into to help the body aid in their elimination.

General circulation

The target destination of a drug after it successfully undergoes absorption through cell layers.

Oral administration

The route of drug delivery specifically associated with liberation in the intestines and the first pass effect.