ADVANCED PHARMACOLOGY STUDY GUIDE WITH QUESTIONS
AND VERIFIED ANSWERS 2024
1. Pharmacogenetics: Study of how genetic makeup affects response to drugs
(identifying genes that account for varying drug reactions in different people)
Most common DNA variation are single nucleotide polymorphisms
Most focused on genes encoding:
-metabolic enzymes --> alter a drug's activity
-defective structural proteins --> increased susceptibility to disease
2. Pharmacology: Science that deals with the origin, nature, chemistry, effects, and uses
of drugs; the characteristics or properties of a drug, especially those that make it
medically effective
3. Pharmacokinetics: Relationship between the dose and the concentration of that drug
in body fluids and tissues over time
"what the body does with drug" --> study of the time course of a drug
-Absorption
-Distribution
-Metabolism/biotransformation
-Excretion/elimination
4. Pharmacodynamics: The relationship between drug concentration at the site of action
and the resulting effect --> "what the drug does to the body/result you see in the pt at
a predefined dosage regimen"
Pharmacological effect is due to the alteration of an intrinsic physiologic process and not
the creation of a new process.
Looks at mechanism of drug action, efficacy, and safety profile.
-Receptor interaction
-Signal transduction
, -Physiologic effect
-Pt's functional status
5. Important Drug Characteristics: -Effectiveness*
-Safety*
-Selectivity --> don't want the drug to do more than it has to
6. Movement of Drugs Across Membranes: Drugs pass through cells via:
-Channels and pores --> small so only only small compounds can move this way (Na, K,
etc)
-Transport systems --> carriers that move drugs from one side to the other, often
selective (depends on drug structure), some require energy
-Direct penetration of the membrane --> must be lipid soluble (lipophilic) e.g.,
transdermals
*NOTE: drugs can exist in charged or uncharged forms, ions are unable to travel across
membranes - only neutral molecules will travel through membranes!
7. Clinical Pharmacokinetics: Application of pharmacokinetic principles to the safe and
effective therapeutic management of drugs in an individual patient --> what dose to
give how often, etc.
8. Enteral Administration: tongue --> down
oral, rectal, sublingual, buccal
9. Parenteral Administration: injectable
IV, IM, SC, intra-articular, intrathecal
10. Sublingual Administration: good absorption through capillary bed under the
tongue, fast absorption, not affected by first-pass metabolism e.g., nitroglycerin
11. Buccal Administration: placed between the cheek and the gum, fast absorption, not
affected by first-pass metabolism
e.g., fentanyl lollipop, glucose
12. Rectal Administration: suppository or enema dosage form; local or systemic effects,
undergo relatively little first-pass metabolism
AND VERIFIED ANSWERS 2024
1. Pharmacogenetics: Study of how genetic makeup affects response to drugs
(identifying genes that account for varying drug reactions in different people)
Most common DNA variation are single nucleotide polymorphisms
Most focused on genes encoding:
-metabolic enzymes --> alter a drug's activity
-defective structural proteins --> increased susceptibility to disease
2. Pharmacology: Science that deals with the origin, nature, chemistry, effects, and uses
of drugs; the characteristics or properties of a drug, especially those that make it
medically effective
3. Pharmacokinetics: Relationship between the dose and the concentration of that drug
in body fluids and tissues over time
"what the body does with drug" --> study of the time course of a drug
-Absorption
-Distribution
-Metabolism/biotransformation
-Excretion/elimination
4. Pharmacodynamics: The relationship between drug concentration at the site of action
and the resulting effect --> "what the drug does to the body/result you see in the pt at
a predefined dosage regimen"
Pharmacological effect is due to the alteration of an intrinsic physiologic process and not
the creation of a new process.
Looks at mechanism of drug action, efficacy, and safety profile.
-Receptor interaction
-Signal transduction
, -Physiologic effect
-Pt's functional status
5. Important Drug Characteristics: -Effectiveness*
-Safety*
-Selectivity --> don't want the drug to do more than it has to
6. Movement of Drugs Across Membranes: Drugs pass through cells via:
-Channels and pores --> small so only only small compounds can move this way (Na, K,
etc)
-Transport systems --> carriers that move drugs from one side to the other, often
selective (depends on drug structure), some require energy
-Direct penetration of the membrane --> must be lipid soluble (lipophilic) e.g.,
transdermals
*NOTE: drugs can exist in charged or uncharged forms, ions are unable to travel across
membranes - only neutral molecules will travel through membranes!
7. Clinical Pharmacokinetics: Application of pharmacokinetic principles to the safe and
effective therapeutic management of drugs in an individual patient --> what dose to
give how often, etc.
8. Enteral Administration: tongue --> down
oral, rectal, sublingual, buccal
9. Parenteral Administration: injectable
IV, IM, SC, intra-articular, intrathecal
10. Sublingual Administration: good absorption through capillary bed under the
tongue, fast absorption, not affected by first-pass metabolism e.g., nitroglycerin
11. Buccal Administration: placed between the cheek and the gum, fast absorption, not
affected by first-pass metabolism
e.g., fentanyl lollipop, glucose
12. Rectal Administration: suppository or enema dosage form; local or systemic effects,
undergo relatively little first-pass metabolism
