Pharmacology Exam 1 572A Study Guide 2026–2027 |
Practice Questions & Verified Answers
Pharmacology is the combination of... - correct answers -Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
Pharmacology - correct answers -the study of drugs and their interactions with living systems.
Clinical Pharmacology - correct answers -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 answers -adverse effect
What are the three major properties of the ideal drug? - correct answers -Effectiveness, Safety,
Selectivity.
Therapeutic Objective - correct answers -To provide maximum benefit with minimal harm.
The therapeutic index measures a drugs? - correct answers -safety
Over the counter (OTC) drug - correct answers -A drug that has FDA approval for specific indications and
which consumers can purchase without a prescription.
1
,Pharmacokinetics - correct answers -What the body does to the drug.
4 components:
absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion
Mydriasis - correct answers -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 answers -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 answers -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 answers -ADME = absorption;
distribution; metabolism; excretion
2
,Blood-Brain Barrier - correct answers -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 answers -the largest effect that a drug can produce.
Potency - correct answers -the amount of the drug necessary to elicit a given effect.
Agonist - correct answers -drug that mimics the action of or creates the same effect as an endogenous
substance (e.g., a neurotransmitter or a hormone).
Antagonist - correct answers -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 answers -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 answers -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).
3
, Iatrogenic effect - correct answers -an effect (usually unintended, and sometimes deleterious) that is
the *result of treatment or the action of a physician, provider or prescriber.*
Teratogenic - correct answers -refers to a developmental abnormality in the fetus during gestation
Carcinogenic - correct answers -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 answers -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 answers -b. Ask the
patient, "When was your last menstrual period?"
4
Practice Questions & Verified Answers
Pharmacology is the combination of... - correct answers -Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
Pharmacology - correct answers -the study of drugs and their interactions with living systems.
Clinical Pharmacology - correct answers -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 answers -adverse effect
What are the three major properties of the ideal drug? - correct answers -Effectiveness, Safety,
Selectivity.
Therapeutic Objective - correct answers -To provide maximum benefit with minimal harm.
The therapeutic index measures a drugs? - correct answers -safety
Over the counter (OTC) drug - correct answers -A drug that has FDA approval for specific indications and
which consumers can purchase without a prescription.
1
,Pharmacokinetics - correct answers -What the body does to the drug.
4 components:
absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion
Mydriasis - correct answers -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 answers -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 answers -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 answers -ADME = absorption;
distribution; metabolism; excretion
2
,Blood-Brain Barrier - correct answers -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 answers -the largest effect that a drug can produce.
Potency - correct answers -the amount of the drug necessary to elicit a given effect.
Agonist - correct answers -drug that mimics the action of or creates the same effect as an endogenous
substance (e.g., a neurotransmitter or a hormone).
Antagonist - correct answers -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 answers -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 answers -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).
3
, Iatrogenic effect - correct answers -an effect (usually unintended, and sometimes deleterious) that is
the *result of treatment or the action of a physician, provider or prescriber.*
Teratogenic - correct answers -refers to a developmental abnormality in the fetus during gestation
Carcinogenic - correct answers -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 answers -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 answers -b. Ask the
patient, "When was your last menstrual period?"
4
