ABRAMS CLINICAL DRUG THERAPY CH. 2 EXAM QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY LATEST UPDATE
2026
Absorption - Answers Process that occurs from the time a drug enters the body to the time t enters
the bloodstream to be circulated
Agonist - Answers drug that produces effects similar to those produced by naturally occurring
hormones, neurotransmitters, and other substances
Antagonist - Answers Drug that inhibits cell function by occupying receptor sites
Antidote - Answers substance that relieves, prevents, or counteracts the effect of a poison
Bioavailability - Answers portion of a drug dose that reaches the systemic circulation and is available
to act on body cells
Biotransformation - Answers when drugs are altered from their original form into a new form by the
body; also referred to as metabolism
Distribution - Answers Transport of drug molecules within the body; after a drug is injected or
absorbed into the bloodstream it is carried by the blood and tissue fluids to its sites of action,
metabolism, and excretion
Enterohepatic Recirculation - Answers drugs or metabolites that are excreted in bile, reabsorbed from
the small intestine, returned to the liver, metabolized, and eventually excreted in urine
Enzyme induction - Answers production of larger amounts of drug-metabolizing enzymes by liver cells;
process accelerates drug metabolism because larger amounts of the enzymes (and more binding
sites) allow larger amounts of a drug to be metabolized during a given time
Enzyme inhibition - Answers process in which a molecule binds to enzymes and inhibits their activity
Excretion - Answers Elimination of a drug from the body; effective excretion requires adequate
functioning of the circulatory system and of the organs of excretion (kidneys, bowel,lungs, and skin)
first pass effect - Answers Initial metabolism of some oral drugs as they are carried from the intestine
to the liver by portal circulatory system prior to reaching the systemic circulation for distribution to
site of action
Hypersensitivity - Answers immune-mediated reaction to a drug
Loading dose - Answers dose larger than the regular prescribed daily dosage of a medication; used to
attain a therapeutic blood level
Maintenance dose - Answers quantity of drug that is needed to keep blood levels and/or tissue levels
at a steady state or constant level
nephrotoxicity - Answers toxic or damaging effect of a substance on the kidney; potentially serious
because renal damage interferes with drug excretion, causing drug accumulation and increased
adverse effects
Pharmacodynamics - Answers reactions between living systems and drugs; drug actions on target cells
and the resulting alterations in cellular biochemical reactions and functions
Pharmacogenomics - Answers The study of how a persons genetic heritage leads to variable
responses to drugs;more generally refers to genetic polymorphisms that occur in a patient population
such as an ethnic group as opposed to an individual person
Pharmacokinetics - Answers drug movement through the body to reach sites of action, metabolism,
and excretion
Polymorphism - Answers The occurrence of two or more clearly different forms in a species important
in a drug therapy because it explains the functionally different response to drugs in a general patient
population or a specific individual
Prodrug - Answers Initially inactive drug that exert no pharmacologic effects until they are
metabolized
serum drug levels - Answers laboratory measurement of the amount of a drug in the blood at a
particular time
serum half-life - Answers time required for the serum concentration of a drug to decrease by 50%;
also called elimination half-life
2026
Absorption - Answers Process that occurs from the time a drug enters the body to the time t enters
the bloodstream to be circulated
Agonist - Answers drug that produces effects similar to those produced by naturally occurring
hormones, neurotransmitters, and other substances
Antagonist - Answers Drug that inhibits cell function by occupying receptor sites
Antidote - Answers substance that relieves, prevents, or counteracts the effect of a poison
Bioavailability - Answers portion of a drug dose that reaches the systemic circulation and is available
to act on body cells
Biotransformation - Answers when drugs are altered from their original form into a new form by the
body; also referred to as metabolism
Distribution - Answers Transport of drug molecules within the body; after a drug is injected or
absorbed into the bloodstream it is carried by the blood and tissue fluids to its sites of action,
metabolism, and excretion
Enterohepatic Recirculation - Answers drugs or metabolites that are excreted in bile, reabsorbed from
the small intestine, returned to the liver, metabolized, and eventually excreted in urine
Enzyme induction - Answers production of larger amounts of drug-metabolizing enzymes by liver cells;
process accelerates drug metabolism because larger amounts of the enzymes (and more binding
sites) allow larger amounts of a drug to be metabolized during a given time
Enzyme inhibition - Answers process in which a molecule binds to enzymes and inhibits their activity
Excretion - Answers Elimination of a drug from the body; effective excretion requires adequate
functioning of the circulatory system and of the organs of excretion (kidneys, bowel,lungs, and skin)
first pass effect - Answers Initial metabolism of some oral drugs as they are carried from the intestine
to the liver by portal circulatory system prior to reaching the systemic circulation for distribution to
site of action
Hypersensitivity - Answers immune-mediated reaction to a drug
Loading dose - Answers dose larger than the regular prescribed daily dosage of a medication; used to
attain a therapeutic blood level
Maintenance dose - Answers quantity of drug that is needed to keep blood levels and/or tissue levels
at a steady state or constant level
nephrotoxicity - Answers toxic or damaging effect of a substance on the kidney; potentially serious
because renal damage interferes with drug excretion, causing drug accumulation and increased
adverse effects
Pharmacodynamics - Answers reactions between living systems and drugs; drug actions on target cells
and the resulting alterations in cellular biochemical reactions and functions
Pharmacogenomics - Answers The study of how a persons genetic heritage leads to variable
responses to drugs;more generally refers to genetic polymorphisms that occur in a patient population
such as an ethnic group as opposed to an individual person
Pharmacokinetics - Answers drug movement through the body to reach sites of action, metabolism,
and excretion
Polymorphism - Answers The occurrence of two or more clearly different forms in a species important
in a drug therapy because it explains the functionally different response to drugs in a general patient
population or a specific individual
Prodrug - Answers Initially inactive drug that exert no pharmacologic effects until they are
metabolized
serum drug levels - Answers laboratory measurement of the amount of a drug in the blood at a
particular time
serum half-life - Answers time required for the serum concentration of a drug to decrease by 50%;
also called elimination half-life
