Pharm Tech Pharmacology Chapters 1-4

Bioavailability

The portion of the administered drug dose that enters the systemic circulation and is available to produce drug effect.

Biopharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals derived from biological sources (e.g proteins, gene sequences) and manufactured using biotechnology methods such as recombinant DNA technology.

Controlled Substances

Drug whose possession and distribution is restricted because of its potential for abuse as determined by federal or state law. Controlled substances are placed in schedules according to their abuse potential and effects if abused.

Dosage form

Drug formation (e.g capsule, tablet, solution).

Dose

Amount of a drug required for one application or administration.

Dosing schedule

How frequently a drug dose is administered (e.g "four times a day").

Drug

Substance used to diagnose, treat, cure, prevent, or mitigate disease in humans or other animals.

Drug delivery system

Dosage for or device designed to release a specific amount of drug.

Enteral

Drug dosage form that is administered orally that passes through the gastrointestinal tract.

Homeopathic medicine

Drugs that are administered in minute quantities to stimulate natural body healing systems.

Legend drug

A drug that is required by state or federal law to be dispensed by a prescription only. Prescriptions must be written for a legitimate medical condition and issued by a practitioner authorized to prescribe.

Over-the-counter (OTC) drug

Drug that may be obtained without a prescription.

Parenteral

Drug dosage that is administered by injection or infusion.

Pharmacognosy

Science dealing with the biological, biochemical features of natural drugs and their constituents. It is the study of drugs of plant and animal origins.

Pharmacology

Study of drugs and their interactions with living systems, including chemical and physical properties, toxicology and therapeutics.

Pharmacotherapy

Use of drugs in the treatment of desease.

Precision medicine

Approach to disease treatment and prevention that considers an individual's genetics, environment, and lifestyle when selecting treatment options.

Toxicology

Science dealing with the study of poisons.

Absorption

Process involving the movement of drug molecules from the site of administration into circulatory system.

Anion

Negatively charged particle.

Bicarbonate

Substance used as a buffer to maintain the normal levels of acidity (pH) in the blood and other fluids in the body.

Bioequivalent drug

Drug that shows no statistical differences in the rate and extent of absorption when it is administered in the same strength, dosage form, and route of administration as the brand name product.

Biotransformation

Process of drug metabolism in the body that transforms a drug to a more active, equally active, or inactive metabolite.

Colloids

Proteins or other large molecules that remain suspended in the blood for a long period and are too large to cross membranes.

Crystalloids

Intravenous solutions that contain electrolytes in concentrations similar to those of plasma.

Diffusion

Passive movement of molecules across cell membranes from an area of high drug concentration to lower concentration.

Distribution

Process of movement of the drug from circulatory system across barrier membranes to the site of drug action.

Duration of action

Time between the onset of action and discontinuation of drug action.

Electrolytes

Small charged molecules essential for homeostasis that play an important role in body chemistry.

Elimination

Process that results in the removal of a drug from the body.

Enzyme

Protein capable of causing a chemical reaction. Enzymes are involved in the metabolism or some drugs.

First-pass effect

Process whereby only a fraction of an orally administered drug reaches systemic circulation because much of the drug is metabolized in the liver to an inactive metabolite before entering the general circulation.

Half-life (t 1/2)

Length of time it takes for the plasma concentration of an administered drug to be reduced by half.

Hydrophilic

Having a strong affinity for water, water loving. Able to dissolve in and absorb water.

Hydrophobic

Lacking an affinity for water, water hating. Resistant to wetting.

Ionization

Chemical process involving the gain or release of a proton (H+). Ionized drug molecules may have a positive or negative charge.

Lipid

Fat-like substance.

Metabolism

Biochemical process involving transformation of active drugs to a compound that can be easily eliminated, or the conversion of prodrugs to active drugs.

Metabolite

Product of drug metabolism. Metabolites may be inactivated drugs or active drugs with equal or greater activity than the parent drug.

Microvilli

Brush-like structures on each villus in the small intestine that increase the surface area for absorption.

Onset of action

Time it takes for drug action to begin.

Osmosis

The movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from a higher to lower concentration.

Peak effect

Maximum drug effect produced by a given dose of drug after the drug has reached its maximum concentration in body.

Pharmaceutical alternative

Drug that contains the same active ingredient as the brand name drug; however, the strength and dosage from may be different.

Pharmaceutical equivalent

Drug that contains identical amount of active ingredient as brand name drug but may have different inactive ingredients, be manufactured in a different dosage form, and exhibit different rates of absorption.

Pharmacokinetics

Science dealing with the movement of an administered drug within the body the includes the study of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination.

Prodrug

Drug administered in an inactive from that is metabolized in the body to an active form.

Therapeutic alternative

Drug that contains different active ingredient(s) than the brand name drug yet produces the same desired therapeutic outcome.

Affinity

Attraction that the receptor site has for the drug.

Agonist

Drug the binds to the receptor and stimulates a cellular response.

Antagonist

Drug that binds the receptor site and does not produce ab action. An antagonist prevents another drug or natural body chemical from binding and activating the receptor site.

Efficacy

Measure of a drug's effectiveness.

Idiosyncratic reaction

Unexpected drug reaction.

Inverse agonist

Drug that has affinity and activity at the receptor site. The drug can turn "off" a receptor that is activated or turn "on" a receptor that is not currently active.

Mechanism of action

Manner in which a drug produces its effect.

Noncompetitive antagonist

Drug that binds to an alternative receptor site that prevents the agonist from binding to and producing its desired action.

Partial agonist

Drug that behaves like an agonist under some conditions and acts like an antagonist under different conditions.

Pharmacodynamics

the study of drugs and their actions on living organisms.

Pharmacotherapeutics

Use of drugs in the treatment of disease and drug effects. It is the study of factors that influence patient response to drugs.

Potency

Measure of the amount of drug required to produce a response. It is the effective dose concentration.

Receptor site

Location of drug-cell binding.

Therapeutic index (TI)

Ratio of the effective dose to the lethal dose.

Addictive effect

Concurrent administration of two drugs enhances the effects produced by the individual drugs.

Antagonism

A drug-drug interaction or drug-food interaction that decreases or blocks the effect of another drug.

Drug-disease contraindication

Drug administration should be avoided because it may worsen the patient's medical condition.

Drug-drug interaction

Effect that occurs when two or more drugs are administered at the same time.

Drug-food interaction

Altered drug response that occurs when a drug is administered with certain foods.

Medication error

An error made in the process of prescribing, preparing, dispensing, or administering drug therapy.

Potentiation

Process where one drug, acting at a separate site or via a different mechanism of action, increases the effect of another drug. The drug produces no effect when administered alone. Food can also potentiate the effects of a drug.

Synergistic effects

Drug-drug or drug-food interaction that produces an effect that is greater then would be produced if either drug were administered alone.

Therapeutic duplication

Administration of two drugs that produce similar effects and side effects. These drugs may belong to the same therapeutic class.