l1 Fundamentals of Pharmacology

Flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture on pharmacology, including definitions, mechanisms, and properties of drugs.

Pharmacology

The science of drugs; includes their mechanisms of action, effects, discovery, design and development.

Therapeutics

The medicinal use of drugs to treat or relieve the symptoms of disease.

Toxicology

The branch of pharmacology that focuses on the harmful effects of chemicals, including drugs.

ADME

Acronym for Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion; critical elements affecting the therapeutic effectiveness of drugs.

Drug

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

Ligand

Small drug molecules that bind to large target proteins to elicit a biological effect.

Pharmacodynamics (PD)

What the drug does to the body; the effects and consequences of drug actions at the molecular level.

Pharmacokinetics (PK)

What the body does to the drug; includes how the drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted.

Volume of Distribution (Vd)

An apparent volume that the drug would occupy if the total amount administered was dissolved in solution at the same concentration as that found in blood plasma.

Half-life (t½)

The time it takes for the plasma concentration of a drug to fall by half.

Clearance

The volume of blood plasma cleared of the drug in unit time, related to a drug's half-life.

Routes of administration

Different ways to deliver drugs into the body, which influence absorption and drug action.

Specificity vs Selectivity

Specificity refers to a drug's ability to bind to a single target, while selectivity implies that the drug only affects that target without affecting others.

Metabolism

The process by which the body alters drugs, typically in the liver, to prepare them for excretion.

Excretion

The removal of drugs or their metabolites from the body, primarily through urine.

Non-sedating antihistamines

Drugs designed not to cross the blood-brain barrier to minimize side effects such as drowsiness.