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Pharm Definitions

Internal Medicine

Pharmacology the study of drugs that interact with living systems through chemical processes, especially by binding to regulatory molecules and activating or inhibiting normal body processes
Drug substance that affects the function of living cells, used in medicine to diagnose, cure, prevent the occurrence of diseases and disorders, and prolong the life of clients with incurable conditions
Chemical Name specific structure of the compound
Generic Name official name, often derived from the chemical name
Brand Name trade name assigned by the pharmaceutical company
Pharmacotherapeutics the area of pharmacology that refers to the use of specific drugs to prevent, treat, or diagnose disease
Pharmacokinetics the study of how the body deals with the drug in terms of the way it is…
A Absorbed
D Distributed
M Metabolized
E Eliminated
Pharmacodynamics the analysis of what the drug does to the body, including the mechanism by which the drug exerts its effect
Toxicology the study of the harmful effects of chemicals
Pharmacy deals with the preparation and dispensing of medications
Side Effects common and expected, but usually undesirable action of a medication
Adverse Reactions (ADRs) unexpected, severe, and dangerous reactions which may occasionally occur with a medication
Dose a quantity to be administered at one time
Dosage the dose, frequency, and duration
Absorption the transfer of a drug from its site of administration to the bloodstream
Topical route directly applied to the skin, includes eye/ear drops
Enteral routes oral (works in about 40 minutes), rectal, gastric feeding tube
Parenteral routes Transmuccosal: buccal (cheek), sublingual, inhalation Injection (intravenous, intra-arterial, subcutaneous, intramuscular, intrathecal (directly to the CNS)) Transdermal (ex/ iontophoresis)
po by mouth
IM intramuscular injection
SC or SQ subcutaneous injection
SL sublingual
IV intravenous
PR per rectum
hs at hour of sleep
ac before meals
pc after meals
q every
qd every day
bid twice/day
tid three times/day
qid four times/day
qod every other day
prn as needed
Bioavailability the extent to which the drug reaches the systemic circulation, depends on the route of administration and on the drug’s ability to cross membrane and tissue barriers
Distribution the transport of a drug from the bloodstream to tissue sites where it will be effective, as well as to sites where the drug may be stored, metabolized, or eliminated from the body
Drug clearance the rate at which the active drug is removed from the body
agonist drug enhances cell activity
antagonist drug inhibits cell activity
Polypharmacology the excessive and unnecessary use of medications - more seen in elderly
Half-life the time it takes for the amount or concentration of a drug to fall by 50% in the body (typically in the plasma)
Potency (effectiveness) the dose of a drug that produces a given response in a specific amplitude
Ceiling Effect (maximal efficacy) the point at which there is no further increase in the response of the drug
Threshold dosage the level when therapeutic response 1st occurs
Median Effective Dose (ED50) dose at which ½ of the population will respond in a specified manner
Median Toxic Dose (TD50) dose at which ½ of the population will exhibit an adverse reaction
Therapeutic Index (TI=(TD50/ED50)) a drug calculation which indicates drug safety. The higher the TI, the safer the drug, or the larger dose needed to evoke a toxic response than it does to cause a beneficial effect
Created by: papillonbleu008