Module 1

Pharmacology

It refers to the study of drugs, including their compositions, uses, and effects.

Clinical Pharmacology

It refers to the science that focuses on the effects of drug in the human body.

Therapeutics

It refers to a branch of medicine that deals specifically in the treatment of diseases.

Diagnosis, Treatment/Cure, Prevention of Illness, Support and Maintenance

What are the four major purposes of therapeutics?

Dosage, Time, Route

What are the three main factors that affect how a body responds to different drugs?

Pharmaceutic, Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacodynamic

What are the three phases of medication?

Pharmaceutic phase

This phase involves the manual breakdown of medications into smaller pieces and is considered the first phase for orally-administered drugs.

Rate Limiting

It refers to the time it takes for the drug to disintegrate and dissolve to become available for the body to dissolve.

Excipients

These refer to fillers and inert substances that enhance the dissolution phase, leading to shorter rate limiting.

Enteric-coated medications

These medications are intended to be dissolved in the small intestine.

Pharmacokinetic phase

This phase determines what the body does to the drug and involves four different processes.

Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion

What are the four different processes involved in the pharmacokinetic phase?

Absorption

This refers to the movement of the drug from the site of administration to the bloodstream.

Bioavailability

It refers to the percentage of the administered drug dose that reaches the systemic circulation.

Distribution

This refers to the transport of a drug in the body by the bloodstream to its site of action for it to take effect.

Metabolism

It involves the biological transformation of the drug into an inactive metabolite in order for it to not be toxic.

First Pass Effect/Metabolism

It refers to the fraction of the drug lost during the process of absorption.

Half-life

It refers to the time it takes for half of the drug concentration to be eliminated.

Prodrugs

It refers to compounds that are pharmacologically inactive when administered, however, they undergo conversion to their active form via metabolism.

Pharmacodynamic phase

It refers to the study of biochemical and physiologic effects of drugs and the molecular mechanisms by which those effects are produced.

Onset of Action

It refers to the time it takes to reach the minimum effective concentration.

Peak of action

It refers to the time it takes for the drug concentration to reach its highest blood or plasma concentration.

Duration of Action

It refers to the length of time of the pharmacologic response.

True

True or False: No single drug will only have one effect.

Primary/Desired effect

It occurs when the therapeutic goal of the medication is achieved.

Side/Secondary effect

It refers to any effect caused by the drug other than the intended therapeutic effect, which can either be beneficial or not.

Adverse Effect

It pertains to more severe symptoms or problems that arise related to medication administration.

Idiosyncratic responses

It refers to unexpected responses not written in the packaging.

Hypersensitivity/Allergic Reactions

It refers to an antibody-antigen reaction brought about by drug administration.

Anaphylactic Shock

It refers to unresolved allergic responses that are usually life-threatening.