pharmacology - answer-✔the study of medicine
understanding how drugs are administered, to where they travel in the body, to the
actual responses produced
therapeutics - answer-✔concerned with the prevention of disease and treatment of
suffering
pharmacotherapy - answer-✔aka pharmacotherapeutics
application of drugs for the purpose of treating diseases and alleviating human
suffering
drug - answer-✔chemical agent capable of producing biologic responses within the
body.
may be desirable/therapeutic or undesirable/adverse
medication - answer-✔a drug is call this after it is administered
biologics - answer-✔agents naturally produced in animal cells, by microorganisms,
or the body itself
ex: hormones, monoclonal antibodies, natural blood products and components,
interferons, and vaccines
,complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies - answer-✔these
involves natural plant extracts, herbs, vitamins, minerals, dietary supplements, and
additional techniques outside of the realm of conventional therapeutics
ex: body based practices such as physical therapy, manipulations, massage,
acupuncture, hypnosis, and biofeedback
therapeutic classification - answer-✔organizing drugs based on their therapeutic
usefulness in treating particular diseases or disorders
ex: influence blood clotting= anticoagulant
lower blood cholesterol= antihyperlipidemic
pharmacologic classification - answer-✔refers to the way a drug works at the
molecular, tissue, or body system level and based on their mechanism of action
ex: lowers plasma volume= diuretic
blocks heart calcium channels= calcium channel blocker
mechanism of action - answer-✔the pharmacologic classification addresses this:
how a drug produces its physiological effect in the body
prototype drug - answer-✔well-understood drug model with which other drugs in
its representative class are compared
, chemical name - answer-✔assigned using standard nomenclature established by the
international union of pure and applied chemistry (IUPAC); a drug has only 1
chemical name which is helping in predicting its properties
ex: diazepam= 7-chloro-1, 3 dihydro-1-metyl....etc
generic name - answer-✔assigned by the U.S. adopted name council
with a few exceptions, these are less complicated and easier to remember than
chemical names
trade name - answer-✔assigned by the company marketing the drug
can have multiple
ex: generic substance (ibuprofen) has multiple trade names: advil, midol 200
combination drug - answer-✔contains more than one active generic ingredient
which poses a problem in trying to match one generic name
bioavailability - answer-✔physiological ability of the drug to reach its target cells
and produce its effect (reach in the bloodstream and target tissue)
pharmacoeconomics - answer-✔a sub-discipline of health economics has helped in
situations involving broader application of a particular type of drug therapy (issues
dealing with cost of medications)
ex: some groups of patients may benefit from the development of a particular class
of drug. decisions are often based on cost, insurance, etc