Key Terms (Abrams Clinical Drug Therapy)
Exam Questions With Correct Answers
Generic name - answer✔✔chemical or official name of the drug that is independent of the
manufacturer (eg. amoxicillin)
Brand (trade) name - answer✔✔manufacturers chosen name for a drug
Controlled Substance - answer✔✔drugs that are categorized by federal law according to
therapeutic usefulness and potential for abuse
Drug classifications - answer✔✔groups of medications that are categorized based according to
their effects on a particular body system, their therapeutic uses and their chemical characteristics
Over the counter (OTC) drugs - answer✔✔medications that are legally availabe without a
prescription
Pharmacogenomics - answer✔✔study of how a persons genetic heritage can influence variable
responses to drugs; generally referring to polymorphisms that occur in a patient population such
as an ethnic group
Pharmacotherapy - answer✔✔use of drugs to prevent, diagnose or treat signs, symptoms and
disease processes
Prescription drugs - answer✔✔medications that are ordered in writing by a licensed health care
provider
Prototype - answer✔✔an individual drug that represent a group of drugs; often the first drug of a
particular drug class that similar drugs are compared to
Pharmacokinetics - answer✔✔drug movement throughout the body (what the body does to the
drug) to rech sites of action, metabolism and excretion
Pharmacokinetics processes - answer✔✔Absorption
Distribution
Metabolism
, ©THEBRIGHT EXAM STUDY SOLUTIONS 8/21/2024 8:36 PM
Excretion
Absorption - answer✔✔time the drug enters the body to the time it enters the blood stream to be
circulated
Distribution - answer✔✔transport of drug molecules within the body to tissue sites after it is
injected and absorbed in the blood stream
Metabolism (biotransformation) - answer✔✔method by which drugs are inactivated or
biotransformed by the body; takes place mostly in the liver
Cytochrome P-450 enzymes - answer✔✔enzymes in the liver that metabolize most drugs
Excretion - answer✔✔elimination of a drug from the body; requires adequate functioning of
circulatory system and of organs of excretion (kidneys, bowel, lungs and skin); most drugs
excreted by kidneys
Bioavailability - answer✔✔portion of dose that reaches systemic circulation and is available to
act on the body
First pass effect - answer✔✔The initial metabolism in the liver of a drug absorbed from the
gastrointestinal tract before the drug reaches systemic circulation through the bloodstream and
out to the bodies tissues
enzyme induction - answer✔✔production of larger amounts of drug metabolizing enzymes by
liver cells; accelerates drug metabolism due to larger amount of enzymes and more binding sites
allowing more of the drug to be metabolized at a given time
enzyme inhibition - answer✔✔process in which molecules bind to enzymes and inhibits their
activity; decreases or delays metabolism of a drug
enterohepatic recirculation - answer✔✔drugs or metabolites that are excreted in bile, reabsorbed
from from the small intestine, returned to the liver, metabolized and eventually excreted in urine
Hypersensitivity - answer✔✔immune mediated reaction to a drug
Loading dose - answer✔✔dose larger than regular the prescribed daily dosage of a medication;
used to attain therapeutic blood level
maintanance dose - answer✔✔quantity of a drug that is needed to keep blood levels and/or tissue
levels at a steady state
Nephrotoxicitiy - answer✔✔toxic or damaging effect of a substance on the kidney
Danger of nephrotoxicity - answer✔✔renal damage interferes with drug excretion, causing drug
accumulation and increased adverse effects