PHARMACOLOGY FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
2026 COMPLETE REVIEW BOOK | PRACTICE
APPLICATIONS & DETAILED CHAPTER SUMMARIES
|| RECENT EDITION
1. What is the study of how drugs interact with living systems to produce therapeutic effects
called?
A) Pharmacy
B) Pharmacognosy
C) Pharmacology
D) Pharmacokinetics
2. Which of the following best describes the term "pharmacokinetics"?
A) The mechanism of drug action
B) What the body does to the drug
C) What the drug does to the body
D) The study of drug toxicity
3. The first-pass effect primarily occurs in which organ?
A) Kidneys
B) Lungs
C) Liver
D) Stomach
4. Which route of administration bypasses first-pass metabolism?
A) Oral
B) Rectal
C) Intravenous
D) Sublingual
5. The therapeutic index (TI) is a measure of:
A) Drug potency
B) Drug safety
C) Drug efficacy
D) Drug affinity
,6. Which branch of pharmacology focuses on the harmful effects of chemicals?
A) Pharmacotherapeutics
B) Toxicology
C) Pharmacodynamics
D) Pharmacogenomics
7. An agonist is a drug that:
A) Binds to receptors and blocks them
B) Binds to receptors and produces a response
C) Has no intrinsic activity
D) Decreases receptor sensitivity
8. Which term describes a diminished response to a drug after repeated administration?
A) Tachyphylaxis
B) Tolerance
C) Dependence
D) Synergism
9. Which of the following is a phase I metabolic reaction?
A) Glucuronidation
B) Acetylation
C) Oxidation
D) Methylation
10. Cytochrome P450 enzymes are mainly involved in:
A) Drug excretion
B) Drug metabolism
C) Drug absorption
D) Drug distribution
11. A prodrug is:
A) An inactive form converted to active in the body
B) A highly toxic drug
C) A drug with no therapeutic use
D) A drug that antagonizes another
12. Which organ is primarily responsible for drug excretion?
A) Liver
B) Lungs
,C) Kidneys
D) Skin
13. The term "half-life" refers to:
A) Time to reach steady state
B) Time for drug concentration to reduce by half
C) Duration of drug action
D) Time to peak effect
14. Which drug class is used as first-line treatment for hypertension?
A) ACE inhibitors
B) Beta-blockers
C) Calcium channel blockers
D) Diuretics
15. Digoxin toxicity is often associated with which electrolyte imbalance?
A) Hyperkalemia
B) Hypokalemia
C) Hypernatremia
D) Hypocalcemia
16. Warfarin's mechanism of action involves:
A) Inhibiting platelet aggregation
B) Inhibiting vitamin K-dependent clotting factors
C) Thrombin inhibition
D) Fibrinolytic activation
17. Which drug is a direct thrombin inhibitor?
A) Clopidogrel
B) Dabigatran
C) Aspirin
D) Heparin
18. Statins work by inhibiting:
A) HMG-CoA reductase
B) ACE
C) COX-1
D) Phosphodiesterase
19. Nitroglycerin is used to treat angina primarily by:
A) Reducing heart rate
, B) Causing vasodilation
C) Increasing contractility
D) Blocking calcium channels
20. Which class of diuretics acts on the loop of Henle?
A) Thiazides
B) Loop diuretics
C) Potassium-sparing
D) Osmotic diuretics
21. Which antibiotic class inhibits bacterial cell wall synthesis?
A) Macrolides
B) Tetracyclines
C) Penicillins
D) Quinolones
22. Methotrexate is an antimetabolite that inhibits:
A) Dihydrofolate reductase
B) Thymidylate synthase
C) DNA polymerase
D) Ribosomal function
23. Which drug is used to reverse opioid overdose?
A) Flumazenil
B) Naloxone
C) Acetylcysteine
D) Atropine
24. Benzodiazepines enhance the effect of which neurotransmitter?
A) Dopamine
B) Serotonin
C) GABA
D) Acetylcholine
25. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are primarily used to treat:
A) Schizophrenia
B) Depression
C) Bipolar disorder
D) ADHD
2026 COMPLETE REVIEW BOOK | PRACTICE
APPLICATIONS & DETAILED CHAPTER SUMMARIES
|| RECENT EDITION
1. What is the study of how drugs interact with living systems to produce therapeutic effects
called?
A) Pharmacy
B) Pharmacognosy
C) Pharmacology
D) Pharmacokinetics
2. Which of the following best describes the term "pharmacokinetics"?
A) The mechanism of drug action
B) What the body does to the drug
C) What the drug does to the body
D) The study of drug toxicity
3. The first-pass effect primarily occurs in which organ?
A) Kidneys
B) Lungs
C) Liver
D) Stomach
4. Which route of administration bypasses first-pass metabolism?
A) Oral
B) Rectal
C) Intravenous
D) Sublingual
5. The therapeutic index (TI) is a measure of:
A) Drug potency
B) Drug safety
C) Drug efficacy
D) Drug affinity
,6. Which branch of pharmacology focuses on the harmful effects of chemicals?
A) Pharmacotherapeutics
B) Toxicology
C) Pharmacodynamics
D) Pharmacogenomics
7. An agonist is a drug that:
A) Binds to receptors and blocks them
B) Binds to receptors and produces a response
C) Has no intrinsic activity
D) Decreases receptor sensitivity
8. Which term describes a diminished response to a drug after repeated administration?
A) Tachyphylaxis
B) Tolerance
C) Dependence
D) Synergism
9. Which of the following is a phase I metabolic reaction?
A) Glucuronidation
B) Acetylation
C) Oxidation
D) Methylation
10. Cytochrome P450 enzymes are mainly involved in:
A) Drug excretion
B) Drug metabolism
C) Drug absorption
D) Drug distribution
11. A prodrug is:
A) An inactive form converted to active in the body
B) A highly toxic drug
C) A drug with no therapeutic use
D) A drug that antagonizes another
12. Which organ is primarily responsible for drug excretion?
A) Liver
B) Lungs
,C) Kidneys
D) Skin
13. The term "half-life" refers to:
A) Time to reach steady state
B) Time for drug concentration to reduce by half
C) Duration of drug action
D) Time to peak effect
14. Which drug class is used as first-line treatment for hypertension?
A) ACE inhibitors
B) Beta-blockers
C) Calcium channel blockers
D) Diuretics
15. Digoxin toxicity is often associated with which electrolyte imbalance?
A) Hyperkalemia
B) Hypokalemia
C) Hypernatremia
D) Hypocalcemia
16. Warfarin's mechanism of action involves:
A) Inhibiting platelet aggregation
B) Inhibiting vitamin K-dependent clotting factors
C) Thrombin inhibition
D) Fibrinolytic activation
17. Which drug is a direct thrombin inhibitor?
A) Clopidogrel
B) Dabigatran
C) Aspirin
D) Heparin
18. Statins work by inhibiting:
A) HMG-CoA reductase
B) ACE
C) COX-1
D) Phosphodiesterase
19. Nitroglycerin is used to treat angina primarily by:
A) Reducing heart rate
, B) Causing vasodilation
C) Increasing contractility
D) Blocking calcium channels
20. Which class of diuretics acts on the loop of Henle?
A) Thiazides
B) Loop diuretics
C) Potassium-sparing
D) Osmotic diuretics
21. Which antibiotic class inhibits bacterial cell wall synthesis?
A) Macrolides
B) Tetracyclines
C) Penicillins
D) Quinolones
22. Methotrexate is an antimetabolite that inhibits:
A) Dihydrofolate reductase
B) Thymidylate synthase
C) DNA polymerase
D) Ribosomal function
23. Which drug is used to reverse opioid overdose?
A) Flumazenil
B) Naloxone
C) Acetylcysteine
D) Atropine
24. Benzodiazepines enhance the effect of which neurotransmitter?
A) Dopamine
B) Serotonin
C) GABA
D) Acetylcholine
25. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are primarily used to treat:
A) Schizophrenia
B) Depression
C) Bipolar disorder
D) ADHD
