NURS 3517 Pharmacology Test 1 Question and
Answer [2026] | UPDATED ACTUAL Exam |
Detailed Answer Explanations
• pharmacokinetics -✓✓ the study of what happens to drugs as they move through the
body
• pharmacodynamics -✓✓ relationship between drug concentration over time and
therapeutic response
• chemical specificity for receptors -✓✓ specificity between receptors and bonds, EX
strict structural requirements for binding
• receptor saturability -✓✓ only a finite number of receptors that can be occupied
• receptor affinity -✓✓ measure of attraction between drug and receptor
• drug potency -✓✓ dose required to have certain effect, related to affinity of receptor
• ED50 -✓✓ dose which produces 50% of maximum effect, used to compare drugs in
terms of potency
• drug efficacy -✓✓ maximal effect achievable for a drug, related to number of
receptor/complexes formed, intrinsic activity of drug in activating receptor
• full agonist -✓✓ affinity to, and full activator, of receptor (high intrinsic activity/efficacy),
increases activity above basal level of receptor where receptor has a constitutive
(intrinsic basal) level of activity in the absence of a ligand
• inverse agonist -✓✓ affinity to, and full activator of receptor (high intrinsic
activity/efficacy), but has exact opposite effect of full agonist (metoprolol), decreases
activity below basal level of receptor where receptor has a constitutive (intrinsic basal)
level of activity in the absence of a ligand
• partial agonist -✓✓ affinity to receptor but only partially activates a receptor, produces
less than the ceiling effect of a full agonist
• pure antagonist -✓✓ affinity to receptor but produces no activation, dose curve is a
straight line across the bottom of an XY graph (EX oraverse vasodilates, overcoming
the vasocontriction of the LA)
, • neutral antgonist -✓✓ has no activity in the absence of an agonist or inverse agonist
but can block either's activity
• competitive antagonist -✓✓ lacks efficacy, competes with agonists for binding sites,
inhibitory effect can be overcome by increasing concentration of competing agonist
• every drug produces a variety of effects, we hope we can get separation from things
we want and adverse side effects, this is different for every patient -✓✓
• know the second slide on page 10 of principles of drugs -✓✓ which drugs is most
potent, least potenet, most efficient and least efficient
• physiological antagonism -✓✓ stimulates competing/opposite physiological responses
which counteract the effects of a therapeutic drug, the inhibitory effect can *NOT* be
overcome by increasing the agonist dosage (EX epi is used during anaphylaxis to
produce physiological responses instead of an antihistamine which is only a competing
antagonist)
• exam will ask you to explain interactions between drugs in reference to physiological
antagonism that were explained in lectures -✓✓
• therapeutic index -✓✓ the difference between a dose that produces a therapeutic
effect and a dose that produces a lethal toxicity, this has to do with a population
• which drug is a safer drug? a drug with a
therapeutic index of 2
or
therapeutic index of 10 -✓✓ the therapeutic index of 10 is safer, there is a larger range
of dosages we can give without toxicity
• therapeutic window -✓✓ difference between ineffective and effective dose range,
drugs like penicillin has a large window where others have a small one (more
dangerous), some DDIs happen to decrease or increase metabolism/reception of the
drug and therefore increase or decrease plasma conc. causing toxicity or
ineffectiveness depending on the type of DDI
• theophylline and cigarette smoker -✓✓ drug will be ineffective due to cigarette smoke
impeding the metabolism of theophylline, need 4x the normal dose
• first pass metabolism -✓✓ drug is absorbed into blood stream and goes to the liver first
before it can get into systemic circulation, very important, could lose a lot of the drug
before it is able to reach target, need to compensate by giving more or give the
medication another way (EX sublingual, but most drugs are not absorbed this way,
rectal, or localized)
Answer [2026] | UPDATED ACTUAL Exam |
Detailed Answer Explanations
• pharmacokinetics -✓✓ the study of what happens to drugs as they move through the
body
• pharmacodynamics -✓✓ relationship between drug concentration over time and
therapeutic response
• chemical specificity for receptors -✓✓ specificity between receptors and bonds, EX
strict structural requirements for binding
• receptor saturability -✓✓ only a finite number of receptors that can be occupied
• receptor affinity -✓✓ measure of attraction between drug and receptor
• drug potency -✓✓ dose required to have certain effect, related to affinity of receptor
• ED50 -✓✓ dose which produces 50% of maximum effect, used to compare drugs in
terms of potency
• drug efficacy -✓✓ maximal effect achievable for a drug, related to number of
receptor/complexes formed, intrinsic activity of drug in activating receptor
• full agonist -✓✓ affinity to, and full activator, of receptor (high intrinsic activity/efficacy),
increases activity above basal level of receptor where receptor has a constitutive
(intrinsic basal) level of activity in the absence of a ligand
• inverse agonist -✓✓ affinity to, and full activator of receptor (high intrinsic
activity/efficacy), but has exact opposite effect of full agonist (metoprolol), decreases
activity below basal level of receptor where receptor has a constitutive (intrinsic basal)
level of activity in the absence of a ligand
• partial agonist -✓✓ affinity to receptor but only partially activates a receptor, produces
less than the ceiling effect of a full agonist
• pure antagonist -✓✓ affinity to receptor but produces no activation, dose curve is a
straight line across the bottom of an XY graph (EX oraverse vasodilates, overcoming
the vasocontriction of the LA)
, • neutral antgonist -✓✓ has no activity in the absence of an agonist or inverse agonist
but can block either's activity
• competitive antagonist -✓✓ lacks efficacy, competes with agonists for binding sites,
inhibitory effect can be overcome by increasing concentration of competing agonist
• every drug produces a variety of effects, we hope we can get separation from things
we want and adverse side effects, this is different for every patient -✓✓
• know the second slide on page 10 of principles of drugs -✓✓ which drugs is most
potent, least potenet, most efficient and least efficient
• physiological antagonism -✓✓ stimulates competing/opposite physiological responses
which counteract the effects of a therapeutic drug, the inhibitory effect can *NOT* be
overcome by increasing the agonist dosage (EX epi is used during anaphylaxis to
produce physiological responses instead of an antihistamine which is only a competing
antagonist)
• exam will ask you to explain interactions between drugs in reference to physiological
antagonism that were explained in lectures -✓✓
• therapeutic index -✓✓ the difference between a dose that produces a therapeutic
effect and a dose that produces a lethal toxicity, this has to do with a population
• which drug is a safer drug? a drug with a
therapeutic index of 2
or
therapeutic index of 10 -✓✓ the therapeutic index of 10 is safer, there is a larger range
of dosages we can give without toxicity
• therapeutic window -✓✓ difference between ineffective and effective dose range,
drugs like penicillin has a large window where others have a small one (more
dangerous), some DDIs happen to decrease or increase metabolism/reception of the
drug and therefore increase or decrease plasma conc. causing toxicity or
ineffectiveness depending on the type of DDI
• theophylline and cigarette smoker -✓✓ drug will be ineffective due to cigarette smoke
impeding the metabolism of theophylline, need 4x the normal dose
• first pass metabolism -✓✓ drug is absorbed into blood stream and goes to the liver first
before it can get into systemic circulation, very important, could lose a lot of the drug
before it is able to reach target, need to compensate by giving more or give the
medication another way (EX sublingual, but most drugs are not absorbed this way,
rectal, or localized)
