| A | B |
|---|
| affinity | The strength of an attraction between a drug and its receptor |
| partial agonist | Has only moderate intrinsic activity and can act as an antagonist |
| pharmacokinetics | Deals with a drugs actions as it moves through the body |
| lipid soluble | Can cross the blood - brain barrier and enter the brain |
| metabolism | The ability of the body to change a drug from its dosage form to a more water - soluble |
| onset | The time interval that starts when the drug is administered and ends when the therapeutic |
| peak | This level is reached when the absorption rate equals the elimination rate |
| mannitol | produces a change in the osmotic pressure in brain cells, reducing cerebral edema |
| pharmacodynamics | The drugs action and effects within the body |
| agonist | drugs that bind with a receptor to produce a therapeutic response |
| adverse reactions | Undesirable drug effects |
| anaphylactic shock | Serious drug reaction that requires immediate attention or it could be fatal |
| antagonist | Produce their effects by preventing (covering up) receptor activation |
| inhibitor | Will decrease (inhibit) the metabolism of a certain drug. |
| grapefruit juice | Inhibits CYP3A4 decreasing the intestinal metabolism of certain drugs which then |
| St John's Wort | A herbal drug which is also an inducer which will increase metabolizing enzymes |
| Intrinsic activity | The ability of a drug to activate a receptor upon binding |
| dubatamine | A drug that mimics the actions of norepinephrine at the receptors in the heart |
| inducer | Drugs which increase the metabolism of other drugs |
| norethindrone | Turns on receptors for progesterone |
| efficacy | The ability to produce a specifically desired effect. |
| duration of action | The length of time the drug produces it's therapeutic effect |
| drug idiosyncrasy | An unusual or abnormal reaction to a drug |
| toxic effect | Levels which exceed the therapeutic level |
| therapeutic index | The relationship between a drugs desired therapeutic effects and its adverse effects |
| half-life | The time it takes for the plasma concentration of a drug to fall to half its original value |
| steady state | When the rate of drug administration equals the rate of drug excretion |
| absorption | How a drug is taken into the body |
| distribution | How a drug moves into various tissue |
| biotransformation | Another term which means metabolism |
| ducosate | Softens the fecal mass, allowing easier passage of stool. |
| narcan | A narcotic that completely blocks the effects of morphine so it is given for an overdose |
| epinephrine | The drug of choice for treatment of anaphylaxis |
| drug tolerance | A decreased response to a drug, requiring an increase in dosage to achieve the |
| acetylcholine | Will activate receptors in the heart that decrease the heart rate. |
| potent | Drugs with a high affinity can bind to receptors at low doses do they are said to be |
| histamine | A chemical present in cells that is released during an allergic reaction and causes |
| allergic reaction | occurs when the body produces antibodies that react with an antigen |
| Phase I | During this phase the drug is tested on healthy volunteers |
| Phase II | This phase involves trails with human subjects who have the disease |
| Phase III | This phase involves using large numbers of patients to test the drug before it is approved |
| Phase IV | This phase involves postmarket surveillance of a drug's therapeutic effects |
| excretion | How the drug is removed from the body |
| Lanoxin | This drug has a long half-life and requires once a day dosing |
| Aspirin | This drug has a short half - life and requires frequent dosing |
| Primary effect | The desired or therapeutic effect |
| Secondary effect | Any effectother than primary |
| activated charcoal | This medication is given orally to absorb toxic chemicals ingested into the GI tract |
| cumulative drug effect | Occurs when the body does not metabolize and excrete one dose of the drug before the next dose is given |
| norepinephrine | This transmitter acts at specific receptors in the heart to increase cardiac output |
