Penn Foster Advanced Veterinary
Pharmacology Exam Questions
With Detailed Answers
Absorption - ANSWER>>The uptake of substances into or across tissues
such as the skin, intestine, or renal tubules.
Vasoconstriction - ANSWER>>The diminution of the caliber of vessels,
especially constriction of arterioles, leading to decreased blood flow to a
part.
Vasodilation - ANSWER>>Dilation of a vessel, especially dilation of
arterioles, leading to increased blood flow to a part.
Vagus Nerve - ANSWER>>Either of the longest pair of cranial nerves mainly
responsible for parasympathetic control over the heart and many other
internal organs, including thoracic and abdominal viscera. The vagus nerves
communicate through 13 main branches, connecting to four areas in the
brain.
Vegetative form - ANSWER>>Concerned with growth and with nutrition, as
opposed to reproduction.
Vena cava - ANSWER>>Vessels returning blood to the right side of the
heart.
,Venodilator - ANSWER>>Dilates the veins.
Vermicide - ANSWER>>An agent lethal to worms or intestinal animal
parasites.
Vertical transmission of resistance - ANSWER>>When a resistant bacterium
spreads the resistance genetically to all daughter cells and all subsequent
generations of bacteria that originate from this one resistant bacterium.
Vestibular apparatus - ANSWER>>In the inner ear, this is the organ
responsible for balance.
Veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) - ANSWER>>The
veterinarian has examined or has adequate medical knowledge of the
patient and has agreed to assume responsibility for veterinary care of the
patient.
Virucidal - ANSWER>>An agent that neutralizes or destroys a virus.
Visceral pain - ANSWER>>Pain associated with organs.
Volume of distribution (Vd) - ANSWER>>A pharmacokinetic value that
provides an approximation of the extent to which a drug is distributed
throughout the body. The Vd is determined by looking at the concentration
of a drug in the blood shortly after an intravenous bolus is given, and
assumes that the drug concentration in the blood equals the concentration
of the drug equally distributed throughout every compartment of the body.
,Warning - ANSWER>>More serious or frequent side effects than those
found in the precautions section. These constitute adverse drug effects that
could potentially do significant harm to the patient.
Wind-up (pain) - ANSWER>>Process of increasing ease with which pain
signals can be sent up the spinal cord to the brain.
Withdrawal time - ANSWER>>Time between last dose and when the animal
can be slaughtered for meat or food products.
Wolbachia - ANSWER>>A gram-negative, intracellular organism that lives
symbiotically within, and is dependent upon, the worms of canine
heartworm disease.
Wolbachia surface protein (WSP) - ANSWER>>Proteins found on the
Wolbachia species of bacteria, which stimulate an inflammatory response,
adding to the inflammation and clinical signs caused by the heartworm.
Xenobiotic - ANSWER>>A chemical foreign to a given biologic system.
Xylitol - ANSWER>>An artificial sweetener that in dogs causes massive
release of insulin, causing hypoglycemia and liver necrosis.
Acetylcholine (ACh) - ANSWER>>A reversible acetic acid ester of choline; it
is a cholinergic agonist and serves as a neurotransmitter at the myoneural
junctions of striated muscles, at autonomic effector cells innervated by
parasympathetic nerves, at the preganglionic synapses of the sympathetic
, and parasympathetic nervous systems, and at various sites in the central
nervous system. ACh has few therapeutic applications owing to its diffuse
action and rapid hydrolysis by acetylcholinesterase (AChE); synthetic
derivatives are used for more specific, prolonged action. ACh is used as a
vasodilator in pharmacoangiography; it is administered by intraarterial
infusion.
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) - ANSWER>>An enzyme of the hydrolase class
that catalyzes the cleavage of acetylcholine to choline and acetate; it is
found in the central nervous system, particularly in gray matter of nerve
tissue, in red blood cells, and in motor endplates of skeletal muscle.
Acetylcysteine - ANSWER>>The N-acetyl derivative of l-cysteine used as a
mucolytic agent for adjunct therapy in bronchopulmonary disorders to
reduce the viscosity of mucus and facilitate its removal, administered by
instillation or nebulization; and as an antidote for acetaminophen
poisoning, administered orally or intravenously.
Acid drug - ANSWER>>A drug whose chemical structure causes it to release
a hydrogen ion (H+, or proton) into its liquid environment as the drug is
placed into increasingly alkaline environments.
Acidic pH - ANSWER>>A liquid environment in which many hydrogen ions
float freely and are available to react with drug molecules. In an acidic
environment, an acid drug will take up a hydrogen ion (i.e., add it to its
molecular structure) and shift from an ionized drug molecule to a
nonionized molecule.
Pharmacology Exam Questions
With Detailed Answers
Absorption - ANSWER>>The uptake of substances into or across tissues
such as the skin, intestine, or renal tubules.
Vasoconstriction - ANSWER>>The diminution of the caliber of vessels,
especially constriction of arterioles, leading to decreased blood flow to a
part.
Vasodilation - ANSWER>>Dilation of a vessel, especially dilation of
arterioles, leading to increased blood flow to a part.
Vagus Nerve - ANSWER>>Either of the longest pair of cranial nerves mainly
responsible for parasympathetic control over the heart and many other
internal organs, including thoracic and abdominal viscera. The vagus nerves
communicate through 13 main branches, connecting to four areas in the
brain.
Vegetative form - ANSWER>>Concerned with growth and with nutrition, as
opposed to reproduction.
Vena cava - ANSWER>>Vessels returning blood to the right side of the
heart.
,Venodilator - ANSWER>>Dilates the veins.
Vermicide - ANSWER>>An agent lethal to worms or intestinal animal
parasites.
Vertical transmission of resistance - ANSWER>>When a resistant bacterium
spreads the resistance genetically to all daughter cells and all subsequent
generations of bacteria that originate from this one resistant bacterium.
Vestibular apparatus - ANSWER>>In the inner ear, this is the organ
responsible for balance.
Veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) - ANSWER>>The
veterinarian has examined or has adequate medical knowledge of the
patient and has agreed to assume responsibility for veterinary care of the
patient.
Virucidal - ANSWER>>An agent that neutralizes or destroys a virus.
Visceral pain - ANSWER>>Pain associated with organs.
Volume of distribution (Vd) - ANSWER>>A pharmacokinetic value that
provides an approximation of the extent to which a drug is distributed
throughout the body. The Vd is determined by looking at the concentration
of a drug in the blood shortly after an intravenous bolus is given, and
assumes that the drug concentration in the blood equals the concentration
of the drug equally distributed throughout every compartment of the body.
,Warning - ANSWER>>More serious or frequent side effects than those
found in the precautions section. These constitute adverse drug effects that
could potentially do significant harm to the patient.
Wind-up (pain) - ANSWER>>Process of increasing ease with which pain
signals can be sent up the spinal cord to the brain.
Withdrawal time - ANSWER>>Time between last dose and when the animal
can be slaughtered for meat or food products.
Wolbachia - ANSWER>>A gram-negative, intracellular organism that lives
symbiotically within, and is dependent upon, the worms of canine
heartworm disease.
Wolbachia surface protein (WSP) - ANSWER>>Proteins found on the
Wolbachia species of bacteria, which stimulate an inflammatory response,
adding to the inflammation and clinical signs caused by the heartworm.
Xenobiotic - ANSWER>>A chemical foreign to a given biologic system.
Xylitol - ANSWER>>An artificial sweetener that in dogs causes massive
release of insulin, causing hypoglycemia and liver necrosis.
Acetylcholine (ACh) - ANSWER>>A reversible acetic acid ester of choline; it
is a cholinergic agonist and serves as a neurotransmitter at the myoneural
junctions of striated muscles, at autonomic effector cells innervated by
parasympathetic nerves, at the preganglionic synapses of the sympathetic
, and parasympathetic nervous systems, and at various sites in the central
nervous system. ACh has few therapeutic applications owing to its diffuse
action and rapid hydrolysis by acetylcholinesterase (AChE); synthetic
derivatives are used for more specific, prolonged action. ACh is used as a
vasodilator in pharmacoangiography; it is administered by intraarterial
infusion.
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) - ANSWER>>An enzyme of the hydrolase class
that catalyzes the cleavage of acetylcholine to choline and acetate; it is
found in the central nervous system, particularly in gray matter of nerve
tissue, in red blood cells, and in motor endplates of skeletal muscle.
Acetylcysteine - ANSWER>>The N-acetyl derivative of l-cysteine used as a
mucolytic agent for adjunct therapy in bronchopulmonary disorders to
reduce the viscosity of mucus and facilitate its removal, administered by
instillation or nebulization; and as an antidote for acetaminophen
poisoning, administered orally or intravenously.
Acid drug - ANSWER>>A drug whose chemical structure causes it to release
a hydrogen ion (H+, or proton) into its liquid environment as the drug is
placed into increasingly alkaline environments.
Acidic pH - ANSWER>>A liquid environment in which many hydrogen ions
float freely and are available to react with drug molecules. In an acidic
environment, an acid drug will take up a hydrogen ion (i.e., add it to its
molecular structure) and shift from an ionized drug molecule to a
nonionized molecule.
