2ND EDITION GRADED A+
drug allergies - ANSWER a hyperresponse of body defenses to a particular drug that
may result in a diverse range of patient symptoms
drug interaction - ANSWER occurs when a medication interacts with another
substance such as another drug, a dietary supplement, an herbal product, or food that
is taken concurrently with the medication, and the drugs actions are affected
idiosyncratic response - ANSWER unpredictiable and unexplained drug reaction
drug-protein complexes - ANSWER formed when a drugh that binds reversibly to a
plasma protein, particularly albumin, that makes the drug unavailable for distribution to
its site of action
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excretion - ANSWER the process of removing substances from the body
first-pass effect - ANSWER mechanism whereby drugs are absorbed enter into the
hepatic portal circulation and are inactivated by the liver before they reach the general
circulation
fetal-placental barrier - ANSWER special anatomic barrier that inhibits many chemicals
and drugs from entering the fetus
Absorption - ANSWER the process by which drug molecules move from their site of
administration to the blood
Affinity - ANSWER the ability of some tissues to attract, accumulate and store drugs in
high concentrations relative to other tissues
blood-brain barrier - ANSWER Blood vessels (capillaries) that selectively let certain
substances enter the brain tissue and keep other substances out
diffusion - ANSWER process by which molecules tend to move from an area where
they are more concentrated to an area where they are less concentrated
distribution - ANSWER the transport of drugs throughout the body after they are
absorbed
hepatic microsomal enzyme system - ANSWER as it relates to phamacotherapy, liver
enzymes that metabolize drugs as well as nutrients and other endogenous substances,
sometimes called the P-450 System
isozymes - ANSWER multiple similar forms of an enzyme that perform slightly different
metabolic functions
loading dose - ANSWER relatively large dose of a drug given at the beginning of
treatment to rapidly obtain a therapeutic response
maintenance doses - ANSWER amount of drug that keeps the plasma drug
concentration in the therapeutic range
, metabolism - ANSWER the process used by the body to chemically change a drug
molecule, also called biotransformation
minimum effective concentration - ANSWER amount of drug required to produce a
therapeutic effect
pharmacokinetics - ANSWER study of drug movement throughout the body
plasma half-life - ANSWER the length of time required for the plasma concentration of
a drug to decrease by one half after administration
prodrugs - ANSWER drugs that become more active after they are metabolized
substrate - ANSWER drug that is metabolized by a CYP enzyme
therapeutic drug monitoring - ANSWER practice of monitoring plasma levels of drughs
that have low safety profiles and using the data to predict drugh action or toxicity
therapeutic range - ANSWER dosage that produces the desired effects of a drug
toxic concentration - ANSWER level of drug that results in serious adverse effects
agonist - ANSWER drug that activates a receptor and produces the same type of
response as the endogenous substance
antagonist - ANSWER agent that blocks the response of another drug
dose-response relationship - ANSWER the way a patient responds to varying doses of
a drug
efficacy - ANSWER the maximal response that can be produced from a particular drug
frequency distrubtion curve - ANSWER a graphic representation of the actual number
of patients responding to a particular drug action at different doses
idiosyncratic response - ANSWER unpredictable and unexplained drug reaction
intrinsic activity - ANSWER the ability of a drug to bind to a receptor and produce a
strong action
margin of safety (MOS) - ANSWER the amount of drug that is lethal to 1% of anmals
divided by the amount of drug that produces a therapeutic effect in 99% of the animals
median effective dose (ED50) - ANSWER the dose of a drug required to produce a
specific therapeutic response in 50% of a group of patients
median lethal dose (LD50) - ANSWER the dose of a drug that will kill 50% if a group of
animals
median toxicity dose (TD50) - ANSWER the dose that will produce a given toxicity in
50% of a group of patients
partial agonist - ANSWER medication that produces weaker or less efficacious
response than an agonist
pharmacodynamics - ANSWER study of the mechanisms of drug action and how the
body responds to drugs
pharmacogenetics - ANSWER the study of genetic variations that alter patients
responses to medications branch of pharmacology that examines the role of genetics in
drug response
potency - ANSWER the strength of a drug at a specified concentration or dose
receptor - ANSWER cellular molecule to which a drug binds to produce its effects
second messenger - ANSWER cascade of biochemical events taht intitiates a drugs
action by either stimulationg or inhibiting a normal activity of the cell
therapeutic index (LI) - ANSWER the ratio of a drugs LD50 to its ED50
additive effect - ANSWER type of drug interaction in which two agents combine to
produce a summation response