Nursing Pharmacology
Absorption - Question and answersthe process by which drug molecules move from
their site of administration to the blood
Affinity - Question and answersthe ability of some tissues to attract, accumulate and
store drugs in high concentrations relative to other tissues
blood-brain barrier - Question and answersBlood vessels (capillaries) that selectively let
certain substances enter the brain tissue and keep other substances out
diffusion - Question and answersprocess by which molecules tend to move from an
area where they are more concentrated to an area where they are less concentrated
distribution - Question and answersthe transport of drugs throughout the body after they
are absorbed
drug-protein complexes - Question and answersformed when a drugh that binds
reversibly to a plasma protein, particularly albumin, that makes the drug unavailable for
distribution to its site of action
enterohepatic recirculation - Question and answersrecycling of drugs and other
substances by the circulation of bile through the intestine and liver
enzyme induction - Question and answersprocess by whick a drug increases the activity
of the hepatic microsomal enzymes
excretion - Question and answersthe process of removing substances from the body
first-pass effect - Question and answersmechanism whereby drugs are absorbed enter
into the hepatic portal circulation and are inactivated by the liver before they reach the
general circulation
fetal-placental barrier - Question and answersspecial anatomic barrier that inhibits many
chemicals and drugs from entering the fetus
hepatic microsomal enzyme system - Question and answersas it relates to
phamacotherapy, liver enzymes that metabolize drugs as well as nutrients and other
endogenous substances, sometimes called the P-450 System
isozymes - Question and answersmultiple similar forms of an enzyme that perform
slightly different metabolic functions
loading dose - Question and answersrelatively large dose of a drug given at the
beginning of treatment to rapidly obtain a therapeutic response
, maintenance doses - Question and answersamount of drug that keeps the plasma drug
concentration in the therapeutic range
metabolism - Question and answersthe process used by the body to chemically change
a drug molecule, also called biotransformation
minimum effective concentration - Question and answersamount of drug required to
produce a therapeutic effect
pharmacokinetics - Question and answersstudy of drug movement throughout the body
plasma half-life - Question and answersthe length of time required for the plasma
concentration of a drug to decrease by one half after administration
prodrugs - Question and answersdrugs that become more active after they are
metabolized
substrate - Question and answersdrug that is metabolized by a CYP enzyme
therapeutic drug monitoring - Question and answerspractice of monitoring plasma levels
of drughs that have low safety profiles and using the data to predict drugh action or
toxicity
therapeutic range - Question and answersdosage that produces the desired effects of a
drug
toxic concentration - Question and answerslevel of drug that results in serious adverse
effects
agonist - Question and answersdrug that activates a receptor and produces the same
type of response as the endogenous substance
antagonist - Question and answersagent that blocks the response of another drug
dose-response relationship - Question and answersthe way a patient responds to
varying doses of a drug
efficacy - Question and answersthe maximal response that can be produced from a
particular drug
frequency distrubtion curve - Question and answersa graphic representation of the
actual number of patients responding to a particular drug action at different doses
idiosyncratic response - Question and answersunpredictable and unexplained drug
reaction
Absorption - Question and answersthe process by which drug molecules move from
their site of administration to the blood
Affinity - Question and answersthe ability of some tissues to attract, accumulate and
store drugs in high concentrations relative to other tissues
blood-brain barrier - Question and answersBlood vessels (capillaries) that selectively let
certain substances enter the brain tissue and keep other substances out
diffusion - Question and answersprocess by which molecules tend to move from an
area where they are more concentrated to an area where they are less concentrated
distribution - Question and answersthe transport of drugs throughout the body after they
are absorbed
drug-protein complexes - Question and answersformed when a drugh that binds
reversibly to a plasma protein, particularly albumin, that makes the drug unavailable for
distribution to its site of action
enterohepatic recirculation - Question and answersrecycling of drugs and other
substances by the circulation of bile through the intestine and liver
enzyme induction - Question and answersprocess by whick a drug increases the activity
of the hepatic microsomal enzymes
excretion - Question and answersthe process of removing substances from the body
first-pass effect - Question and answersmechanism whereby drugs are absorbed enter
into the hepatic portal circulation and are inactivated by the liver before they reach the
general circulation
fetal-placental barrier - Question and answersspecial anatomic barrier that inhibits many
chemicals and drugs from entering the fetus
hepatic microsomal enzyme system - Question and answersas it relates to
phamacotherapy, liver enzymes that metabolize drugs as well as nutrients and other
endogenous substances, sometimes called the P-450 System
isozymes - Question and answersmultiple similar forms of an enzyme that perform
slightly different metabolic functions
loading dose - Question and answersrelatively large dose of a drug given at the
beginning of treatment to rapidly obtain a therapeutic response
, maintenance doses - Question and answersamount of drug that keeps the plasma drug
concentration in the therapeutic range
metabolism - Question and answersthe process used by the body to chemically change
a drug molecule, also called biotransformation
minimum effective concentration - Question and answersamount of drug required to
produce a therapeutic effect
pharmacokinetics - Question and answersstudy of drug movement throughout the body
plasma half-life - Question and answersthe length of time required for the plasma
concentration of a drug to decrease by one half after administration
prodrugs - Question and answersdrugs that become more active after they are
metabolized
substrate - Question and answersdrug that is metabolized by a CYP enzyme
therapeutic drug monitoring - Question and answerspractice of monitoring plasma levels
of drughs that have low safety profiles and using the data to predict drugh action or
toxicity
therapeutic range - Question and answersdosage that produces the desired effects of a
drug
toxic concentration - Question and answerslevel of drug that results in serious adverse
effects
agonist - Question and answersdrug that activates a receptor and produces the same
type of response as the endogenous substance
antagonist - Question and answersagent that blocks the response of another drug
dose-response relationship - Question and answersthe way a patient responds to
varying doses of a drug
efficacy - Question and answersthe maximal response that can be produced from a
particular drug
frequency distrubtion curve - Question and answersa graphic representation of the
actual number of patients responding to a particular drug action at different doses
idiosyncratic response - Question and answersunpredictable and unexplained drug
reaction
