NR 565 ADVANCED PHARMACOLOGY 2026/2027
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
RATED A+
✔✔Mutagenic effects - ✔✔Able to cause changes in genetic tissue
✔✔Carcinogen - ✔✔Substances that can cause cancer
✔✔Toxicology - ✔✔The study of adverse effects of chemicals and their compounds on
living organisms and tissues
✔✔4 components of pharmacokinetics - ✔✔Absorption, distribution, metabolism,
excretion
✔✔Onset of action - ✔✔The time it takes for medication to take effect
✔✔Time to peak effect - ✔✔Time before medication is at height of effect
✔✔Duration of action - ✔✔How long therapeutic effect lasts
✔✔Half-life - ✔✔Time required for half of a chemical to be eliminated
✔✔Steady state - ✔✔Amount of drug going in = amount of drug going out
✔✔Peak - ✔✔Highest level of the drug achieved
✔✔Trough - ✔✔The level of a drug concentration immediately before next dose
✔✔Duration - ✔✔Length of time drug remains active; measured from therapeutic level
to when elimination decreases level below therapeutic range
✔✔Absorption - ✔✔The movement into the bloodstream for distribution
✔✔Bioavailability - ✔✔The extent to which a medication can be absorbed
✔✔Absorption: enteral - ✔✔GI tract > bloodstream > liver = 1st pass effect
✔✔Causes of decreased enteral absorption - ✔✔Bariatric surgery (decreased surface
area)
Vigorous activity (blood shunted away from GI tract)
Age (decreased motility)
, ✔✔Parenteral medications - ✔✔No 1st pass effect; 100% available as they enter the
bloodstream
✔✔Topical medication administration sites - ✔✔Skin, eyes, ears, nose, rectum, vagina
✔✔Purpose of topical medication application - ✔✔Intended for action at the site of
application
✔✔Transdermal medications: intention - ✔✔Internal effect
✔✔Transdermal medications: absorption - ✔✔Carried through skin to bloodstream; no
1st pass effect
✔✔Transdermal medications: sites - ✔✔Rotate sites to prevent irritation
Trunk or upper extremities with good circulation
Avoid scar tissue due to decreased absorption
✔✔Inhaled medications - ✔✔Intented for lungs and/or other areas of the body
✔✔Distribution: transport - ✔✔Most rapid in areas with high blood flow (major organs)
Slower to fat, skin, and muscles (increased by physical activity)
✔✔Distribution: elimination - ✔✔Occurs primarily in the liver and kidneys
Watch for renal/liver toxicity
✔✔Distribution: decreased albumin - ✔✔Can increase risk of toxicity in burns,
starvation, negative nitrogen balance
✔✔Metabolism - ✔✔When a substance is irreversibly transformed into metabolites
✔✔Excretion - ✔✔Elimination of a substance from the body
✔✔Agonist - ✔✔A drug that binds to and activates a receptor
✔✔Agonist: full - ✔✔High efficacy, full response
✔✔Agonist: partial - ✔✔Lower efficacy, sub-maximal activation when occupying all
receptors
✔✔Agonist: inverse - ✔✔Produces opposite effect yet binds to the same receptors as
agonist
✔✔Silent antagonist - ✔✔Neutral antagonist
Attenuates/weakens effects of agonists/inverse agonists
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
RATED A+
✔✔Mutagenic effects - ✔✔Able to cause changes in genetic tissue
✔✔Carcinogen - ✔✔Substances that can cause cancer
✔✔Toxicology - ✔✔The study of adverse effects of chemicals and their compounds on
living organisms and tissues
✔✔4 components of pharmacokinetics - ✔✔Absorption, distribution, metabolism,
excretion
✔✔Onset of action - ✔✔The time it takes for medication to take effect
✔✔Time to peak effect - ✔✔Time before medication is at height of effect
✔✔Duration of action - ✔✔How long therapeutic effect lasts
✔✔Half-life - ✔✔Time required for half of a chemical to be eliminated
✔✔Steady state - ✔✔Amount of drug going in = amount of drug going out
✔✔Peak - ✔✔Highest level of the drug achieved
✔✔Trough - ✔✔The level of a drug concentration immediately before next dose
✔✔Duration - ✔✔Length of time drug remains active; measured from therapeutic level
to when elimination decreases level below therapeutic range
✔✔Absorption - ✔✔The movement into the bloodstream for distribution
✔✔Bioavailability - ✔✔The extent to which a medication can be absorbed
✔✔Absorption: enteral - ✔✔GI tract > bloodstream > liver = 1st pass effect
✔✔Causes of decreased enteral absorption - ✔✔Bariatric surgery (decreased surface
area)
Vigorous activity (blood shunted away from GI tract)
Age (decreased motility)
, ✔✔Parenteral medications - ✔✔No 1st pass effect; 100% available as they enter the
bloodstream
✔✔Topical medication administration sites - ✔✔Skin, eyes, ears, nose, rectum, vagina
✔✔Purpose of topical medication application - ✔✔Intended for action at the site of
application
✔✔Transdermal medications: intention - ✔✔Internal effect
✔✔Transdermal medications: absorption - ✔✔Carried through skin to bloodstream; no
1st pass effect
✔✔Transdermal medications: sites - ✔✔Rotate sites to prevent irritation
Trunk or upper extremities with good circulation
Avoid scar tissue due to decreased absorption
✔✔Inhaled medications - ✔✔Intented for lungs and/or other areas of the body
✔✔Distribution: transport - ✔✔Most rapid in areas with high blood flow (major organs)
Slower to fat, skin, and muscles (increased by physical activity)
✔✔Distribution: elimination - ✔✔Occurs primarily in the liver and kidneys
Watch for renal/liver toxicity
✔✔Distribution: decreased albumin - ✔✔Can increase risk of toxicity in burns,
starvation, negative nitrogen balance
✔✔Metabolism - ✔✔When a substance is irreversibly transformed into metabolites
✔✔Excretion - ✔✔Elimination of a substance from the body
✔✔Agonist - ✔✔A drug that binds to and activates a receptor
✔✔Agonist: full - ✔✔High efficacy, full response
✔✔Agonist: partial - ✔✔Lower efficacy, sub-maximal activation when occupying all
receptors
✔✔Agonist: inverse - ✔✔Produces opposite effect yet binds to the same receptors as
agonist
✔✔Silent antagonist - ✔✔Neutral antagonist
Attenuates/weakens effects of agonists/inverse agonists
