PHARMACOLOGY EXAM 1 572A STUDY GUIDE | COMPREHENSIVE
PHARMACOLOGY STUDY GUIDE, PRACTICE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
2026/2027
Pharmacology is the combination of... - correct answer ✔✔Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
Pharmacology - correct answer ✔✔the study of drugs and their interactions with living systems.
Clinical Pharmacology - correct answer ✔✔the study of drugs in humans.
After a nurse gives the recommended dosage of a new medication with known gastrointestinal
side effects to a patient, nausea and one episode of vomiting occur in the patient. Which term
below best characterizes this response? - correct answer ✔✔adverse effect
What are the three major properties of the ideal drug? - correct answer ✔✔Effectiveness, Safety,
Selectivity.
Therapeutic Objective - correct answer ✔✔To provide maximum benefit with minimal harm.
The therapeutic index measures a drugs? - correct answer ✔✔safety
Over the counter (OTC) drug - correct answer ✔✔A drug that has FDA approval for specific indications
and which consumers can purchase without a prescription.
Pharmacokinetics - correct answer ✔✔What the body does to the drug.
4 components:
absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion
Mydriasis - correct answer ✔✔Dilation of the pupil due to contraction of the radial muscle in the eye.
What must a drug company prove to the FDA as part of a new drug application, before the drug will be
considered for marketing? - correct answer ✔✔Free of adulterants (Pure Food & Drug Act 1906), *safe*
(Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act 1938) and *effective* (Harris-Kefauver Amendment to FD&C Act 1962) but
only in comparison to placebo for the approved indications.
Pick the patient who is at the least risk for an adverse drug event.
a. a 13 year old girl with autoimmune hepatitis
b. a 34 year old female with breast cancer
c. a 45 year old healthy woman
d. an 80 year old man with no chronic illnesses - correct answer ✔✔c. a 45 year old healthy woman
Concept: any pre-existing disease may put a patient at increased risk for an adverse event,
partly because most clinical studies used to obtain FDA approval for marketing do not
allow patients with other diseases into the study, so effects in them are relatively
unknown. C. is a better choice than D because patients at the extremes of age are also
at relatively increased risk due to immature or declining organ system (esp liver and
,kidney) function
What the four major components of pharmacokinetics? - correct answer ✔✔ADME = absorption;
distribution; metabolism; excretion
Blood-Brain Barrier - correct answer ✔✔biologic membrane lining the brain and spinal cord, that
consists of specialized capillaries that are harder to penetrate (or, it is harder for chemicals/drugs to pass
through) than an ordinary capillary elsewhere in the body.
Maximum Efficacy - correct answer ✔✔the largest effect that a drug can produce.
Potency - correct answer ✔✔the amount of the drug necessary to elicit a given effect.
Agonist - correct answer ✔✔drug that mimics the action of or creates the same effect as an endogenous
substance (e.g., a neurotransmitter or a hormone).
Antagonist - correct answer ✔✔drug that prevents the activation of a receptor by or blocks the receptor
of an endogenous substance or an agonist drug. An agonist must be present.
What substances could a drug interact with in the body, other than a drug? - correct answer ✔✔Food is
probably the best answer. It is acceptable to list other substances that some
patients use for treatment of disease or maintenance of health, such as
nutriceuticals, herbal substances, vitamins, although if one defines a "drug"
as "any chemical that can affect living processes" then food may be the only
correct answer. The point of the question is to show that interactions are not
limited to combinations of two or more prescription (legend) drugs
Idiosyncratic effect - correct answer ✔✔a very unusual, *unexpected and unintended reaction* to a
drug that is often the result of a genetic predisposition (such as an unusual metabolic route).
Iatrogenic effect - correct answer ✔✔an effect (usually unintended, and sometimes deleterious) that is
the *result of treatment or the action of a physician, provider or prescriber.*
Teratogenic - correct answer ✔✔refers to a developmental abnormality in the fetus during gestation
Carcinogenic - correct answer ✔✔simply means cancer causing
Explain why the same dose of the same drug may not have the same beneficial effects or side
effects in two different people.Explain why the same dose of the same drug may not have the same
beneficial effects or side
effects in two different people. - correct answer ✔✔Individual variation, resulting from differences in:
age; body weight; body composition;
gender; pre-existing disease; pre-existing organ system disease (e.g., liver or
renal dysfunction); genetics; absorption; diet; compliance/adherence; and even
the concurrent use of other drugs.
A nurse prepares to administer a newly prescribed medication to a 22 year old woman. The
medication package insert states that it is a "FDA Pregnancy Category X" drug. Which is the
, nurse's best action?
a. Ask the patient, "Have you been sexually active during the past year?"
b. Ask the patient, "When was your last menstrual period?"
c. Inform the patient of the primary actions of the medication.
d. Assess the patient for a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) - correct answer ✔✔b. Ask the
patient, "When was your last menstrual period?"
During patient teaching the nurse advises lactating mothers that drug effects on the breast fed
infant may be minimized by the mother taking medications......
a. right after breast feeding.
b. two hours after breast feeding.
c. one hour before breast feeding.
d. right before breast feeding. - correct answer ✔✔a. right after breast feeding.
If most drugs penetrate into breast milk, why is it that few breast fed infants are adversely
affected by drugs taken by the nursing mother? - correct answer ✔✔The amount of drug contained in
the usual volume of breast milk consumed by a
nursing infant is usually so small that no pharmacologic effect or side effect is
likely to occur. It is an issue related to concentration and total amount ingested.
Why are children usually more "sensitive" to drugs? - correct answer ✔✔Children have relatively
immature pharmacokinetic processes (metabolic and excretory
function) and therefore, do not have the capacity that adults have to detoxify and
eliminate drugs or any xenobiotic. Also, they tend to have a different body
composition (in terms of percentage body fat and water) than adults, and for
some drugs, this predisposes to increased effects and/or toxicity.
Why are elderly patients usually more "sensitive" to drugs? - correct answer ✔✔The elderly have
decreased pharmacokinetic processes (metabolic and excretory) due
to age related decline in the functional capacity of many organs. They are also
more likely to have organ system disease and be on numerous drugs,
predisposing to side effects and interactions, respectively.
Contraindication - correct answer ✔✔A pre-existing condition (in a patient) that would make
administration of a specific drug to that patient dangerous.
____________ drugs cross the placenta most readily. - correct answer ✔✔a. Lipid soluble
Tachyphylaxis - correct answer ✔✔Tolerance that develops rapidly
Autonomic Nervous System - correct answer ✔✔A part of the peripheral nervous system that is under
involuntary control ie: a person can not control its action
Acetylcholine - correct answer ✔✔A neurotransmitter present at all preganglionic ANS (adrenergic
[sympathetic] and cholinergic [parasympathetic]) receptors (synapses), all post- ganglionic cholinergic
(parasympathetic) receptors, the post ganglionic adrenergic (sympathetic) receptors to sweat glands, and
at the myoneural (neuromuscular) junction of all somatic (motor system) receptors.
PHARMACOLOGY STUDY GUIDE, PRACTICE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
2026/2027
Pharmacology is the combination of... - correct answer ✔✔Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
Pharmacology - correct answer ✔✔the study of drugs and their interactions with living systems.
Clinical Pharmacology - correct answer ✔✔the study of drugs in humans.
After a nurse gives the recommended dosage of a new medication with known gastrointestinal
side effects to a patient, nausea and one episode of vomiting occur in the patient. Which term
below best characterizes this response? - correct answer ✔✔adverse effect
What are the three major properties of the ideal drug? - correct answer ✔✔Effectiveness, Safety,
Selectivity.
Therapeutic Objective - correct answer ✔✔To provide maximum benefit with minimal harm.
The therapeutic index measures a drugs? - correct answer ✔✔safety
Over the counter (OTC) drug - correct answer ✔✔A drug that has FDA approval for specific indications
and which consumers can purchase without a prescription.
Pharmacokinetics - correct answer ✔✔What the body does to the drug.
4 components:
absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion
Mydriasis - correct answer ✔✔Dilation of the pupil due to contraction of the radial muscle in the eye.
What must a drug company prove to the FDA as part of a new drug application, before the drug will be
considered for marketing? - correct answer ✔✔Free of adulterants (Pure Food & Drug Act 1906), *safe*
(Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act 1938) and *effective* (Harris-Kefauver Amendment to FD&C Act 1962) but
only in comparison to placebo for the approved indications.
Pick the patient who is at the least risk for an adverse drug event.
a. a 13 year old girl with autoimmune hepatitis
b. a 34 year old female with breast cancer
c. a 45 year old healthy woman
d. an 80 year old man with no chronic illnesses - correct answer ✔✔c. a 45 year old healthy woman
Concept: any pre-existing disease may put a patient at increased risk for an adverse event,
partly because most clinical studies used to obtain FDA approval for marketing do not
allow patients with other diseases into the study, so effects in them are relatively
unknown. C. is a better choice than D because patients at the extremes of age are also
at relatively increased risk due to immature or declining organ system (esp liver and
,kidney) function
What the four major components of pharmacokinetics? - correct answer ✔✔ADME = absorption;
distribution; metabolism; excretion
Blood-Brain Barrier - correct answer ✔✔biologic membrane lining the brain and spinal cord, that
consists of specialized capillaries that are harder to penetrate (or, it is harder for chemicals/drugs to pass
through) than an ordinary capillary elsewhere in the body.
Maximum Efficacy - correct answer ✔✔the largest effect that a drug can produce.
Potency - correct answer ✔✔the amount of the drug necessary to elicit a given effect.
Agonist - correct answer ✔✔drug that mimics the action of or creates the same effect as an endogenous
substance (e.g., a neurotransmitter or a hormone).
Antagonist - correct answer ✔✔drug that prevents the activation of a receptor by or blocks the receptor
of an endogenous substance or an agonist drug. An agonist must be present.
What substances could a drug interact with in the body, other than a drug? - correct answer ✔✔Food is
probably the best answer. It is acceptable to list other substances that some
patients use for treatment of disease or maintenance of health, such as
nutriceuticals, herbal substances, vitamins, although if one defines a "drug"
as "any chemical that can affect living processes" then food may be the only
correct answer. The point of the question is to show that interactions are not
limited to combinations of two or more prescription (legend) drugs
Idiosyncratic effect - correct answer ✔✔a very unusual, *unexpected and unintended reaction* to a
drug that is often the result of a genetic predisposition (such as an unusual metabolic route).
Iatrogenic effect - correct answer ✔✔an effect (usually unintended, and sometimes deleterious) that is
the *result of treatment or the action of a physician, provider or prescriber.*
Teratogenic - correct answer ✔✔refers to a developmental abnormality in the fetus during gestation
Carcinogenic - correct answer ✔✔simply means cancer causing
Explain why the same dose of the same drug may not have the same beneficial effects or side
effects in two different people.Explain why the same dose of the same drug may not have the same
beneficial effects or side
effects in two different people. - correct answer ✔✔Individual variation, resulting from differences in:
age; body weight; body composition;
gender; pre-existing disease; pre-existing organ system disease (e.g., liver or
renal dysfunction); genetics; absorption; diet; compliance/adherence; and even
the concurrent use of other drugs.
A nurse prepares to administer a newly prescribed medication to a 22 year old woman. The
medication package insert states that it is a "FDA Pregnancy Category X" drug. Which is the
, nurse's best action?
a. Ask the patient, "Have you been sexually active during the past year?"
b. Ask the patient, "When was your last menstrual period?"
c. Inform the patient of the primary actions of the medication.
d. Assess the patient for a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) - correct answer ✔✔b. Ask the
patient, "When was your last menstrual period?"
During patient teaching the nurse advises lactating mothers that drug effects on the breast fed
infant may be minimized by the mother taking medications......
a. right after breast feeding.
b. two hours after breast feeding.
c. one hour before breast feeding.
d. right before breast feeding. - correct answer ✔✔a. right after breast feeding.
If most drugs penetrate into breast milk, why is it that few breast fed infants are adversely
affected by drugs taken by the nursing mother? - correct answer ✔✔The amount of drug contained in
the usual volume of breast milk consumed by a
nursing infant is usually so small that no pharmacologic effect or side effect is
likely to occur. It is an issue related to concentration and total amount ingested.
Why are children usually more "sensitive" to drugs? - correct answer ✔✔Children have relatively
immature pharmacokinetic processes (metabolic and excretory
function) and therefore, do not have the capacity that adults have to detoxify and
eliminate drugs or any xenobiotic. Also, they tend to have a different body
composition (in terms of percentage body fat and water) than adults, and for
some drugs, this predisposes to increased effects and/or toxicity.
Why are elderly patients usually more "sensitive" to drugs? - correct answer ✔✔The elderly have
decreased pharmacokinetic processes (metabolic and excretory) due
to age related decline in the functional capacity of many organs. They are also
more likely to have organ system disease and be on numerous drugs,
predisposing to side effects and interactions, respectively.
Contraindication - correct answer ✔✔A pre-existing condition (in a patient) that would make
administration of a specific drug to that patient dangerous.
____________ drugs cross the placenta most readily. - correct answer ✔✔a. Lipid soluble
Tachyphylaxis - correct answer ✔✔Tolerance that develops rapidly
Autonomic Nervous System - correct answer ✔✔A part of the peripheral nervous system that is under
involuntary control ie: a person can not control its action
Acetylcholine - correct answer ✔✔A neurotransmitter present at all preganglionic ANS (adrenergic
[sympathetic] and cholinergic [parasympathetic]) receptors (synapses), all post- ganglionic cholinergic
(parasympathetic) receptors, the post ganglionic adrenergic (sympathetic) receptors to sweat glands, and
at the myoneural (neuromuscular) junction of all somatic (motor system) receptors.
