Introduction to Clinical Pharmacology –
Comprehensive Review Notes (Visovsky 9th
Edition)
Pharmacology Basics & Principles
1. What is the difference between pharmacology and clinical pharmacology?
Answer: Pharmacology is the broad science of drugs, including their
sources, properties, and effects on living systems. Clinical pharmacology is
the subset that focuses on the effects and use of drugs in humans,
particularly for therapeutic purposes.
2. What is the difference between a drug's chemical, generic, and trade
name?
Answer: Chemical name describes the molecular structure; Generic
(nonproprietary) is the official, simplified name; Trade (proprietary) is the
brand name given by a manufacturer.
3. What does the term "pharmacokinetics" refer to?
Answer: What the body does to the drug; the processes of absorption,
distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME).
4. What does the term "pharmacodynamics" refer to?
Answer: What the drug does to the body; the biochemical and
physiologic effects of drugs and their mechanisms of action.
5. What is the first-pass effect?
Answer: The metabolism of an orally administered drug in the liver
before it reaches the systemic circulation, which can reduce its
bioavailability.
6. What is bioavailability?
Answer: The fraction of an administered drug that reaches the systemic
circulation unchanged.
, 7. What is the primary organ for drug metabolism?
Answer: The Liver.
8. What is the primary organ for drug excretion?
Answer: The Kidneys.
9. What is a drug's half-life (t½)?
Answer: The time it takes for the plasma concentration of a drug to be
reduced by 50%.
10.What is the therapeutic index (TI) of a drug?
Answer: A ratio that compares the dose that produces a toxic effect to
the dose that produces a therapeutic effect (TD50/ED50). A higher TI
indicates a safer drug.
11.What is an agonist drug?
Answer: A drug that binds to a receptor and activates it, producing a
physiologic response.
12.What is an antagonist drug?
Answer: A drug that binds to a receptor but does not activate it,
blocking the agonist from binding.
13.What is the difference between a side effect and an adverse drug reaction
(ADR)?
Answer: A side effect is a predictable, secondary effect of a drug. An
ADR is any noxious, unintended, and undesired effect that occurs at normal
drug doses.
14.What is a contraindication for a drug?
Answer: A specific situation or condition in which a drug should not be
used because it may be harmful.
15.What is drug tolerance?
Answer: A decreasing response to repeated doses of the same drug,
requiring higher doses to achieve the same effect.
Comprehensive Review Notes (Visovsky 9th
Edition)
Pharmacology Basics & Principles
1. What is the difference between pharmacology and clinical pharmacology?
Answer: Pharmacology is the broad science of drugs, including their
sources, properties, and effects on living systems. Clinical pharmacology is
the subset that focuses on the effects and use of drugs in humans,
particularly for therapeutic purposes.
2. What is the difference between a drug's chemical, generic, and trade
name?
Answer: Chemical name describes the molecular structure; Generic
(nonproprietary) is the official, simplified name; Trade (proprietary) is the
brand name given by a manufacturer.
3. What does the term "pharmacokinetics" refer to?
Answer: What the body does to the drug; the processes of absorption,
distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME).
4. What does the term "pharmacodynamics" refer to?
Answer: What the drug does to the body; the biochemical and
physiologic effects of drugs and their mechanisms of action.
5. What is the first-pass effect?
Answer: The metabolism of an orally administered drug in the liver
before it reaches the systemic circulation, which can reduce its
bioavailability.
6. What is bioavailability?
Answer: The fraction of an administered drug that reaches the systemic
circulation unchanged.
, 7. What is the primary organ for drug metabolism?
Answer: The Liver.
8. What is the primary organ for drug excretion?
Answer: The Kidneys.
9. What is a drug's half-life (t½)?
Answer: The time it takes for the plasma concentration of a drug to be
reduced by 50%.
10.What is the therapeutic index (TI) of a drug?
Answer: A ratio that compares the dose that produces a toxic effect to
the dose that produces a therapeutic effect (TD50/ED50). A higher TI
indicates a safer drug.
11.What is an agonist drug?
Answer: A drug that binds to a receptor and activates it, producing a
physiologic response.
12.What is an antagonist drug?
Answer: A drug that binds to a receptor but does not activate it,
blocking the agonist from binding.
13.What is the difference between a side effect and an adverse drug reaction
(ADR)?
Answer: A side effect is a predictable, secondary effect of a drug. An
ADR is any noxious, unintended, and undesired effect that occurs at normal
drug doses.
14.What is a contraindication for a drug?
Answer: A specific situation or condition in which a drug should not be
used because it may be harmful.
15.What is drug tolerance?
Answer: A decreasing response to repeated doses of the same drug,
requiring higher doses to achieve the same effect.
