Chapter 11

Question 1

Absorption

Answer 1

the process by which a medication moves from the site of administration into the vascular system.

Question 2

Adrenergic

Answer 2

pertaining to the nerves that release the neurotransmitter norepinephrine and the receptor sites that it acts upon

Question 3

Affinity

Answer 3

a measure of attraction and degree of binding between a drug and a cellular receptor.

Question 4

Agonist

Answer 4

drugs that bind to a receptor and cause a response.

Question 5

Analgesics

Question 6

Antagonist

Answer 6

drugs that bind to receptor sites and prevent a normal response by the cell.

Question 7

Anticholinergics

Answer 7

drugs that block acetylcholine receptors, preventing the transmission of parasympathetic nerve impulses

Question 8

Anticoagulant

Question 9

Antiplatelet

Answer 9

a medication that interferes with platelet aggregation.

Question 10

Barbiturates

Answer 10

sedatives with a mechanism of action that includes an increase in affinity between the receptor sites and the neurotransmitter GABA.

Question 11

Bioavailability

Answer 11

the degree to which a drug becomes available at the site of physiological activity after it is administered.

Question 12

Biotransformation

Answer 12

the chemical alterations that a substance, such as a drug, undergoes within the body

Question 13

Cholinergics

Answer 13

medications that stimulate the cellular acetylcholine (ACh) receptors.

Question 14

Contraindications

Answer 14

the conditions under which administering an otherwise indicated medication would result in patient harm.

Question 15

Cross-tolerance

Answer 15

a decrease in responsiveness to the effects of several related drugs.

Question 16

Diuretics

Answer 16

substances that promote the excretion of water through the kidneys.

Question 17

Fibrinolytic

Answer 17

a substance that breaks down blood clots by initiating the body’s normal mechanism for dissolving blood clots.

Question 18

Habitation

Answer 18

a decreased response to a drug following repeated doses.

Question 19

Half-life

Answer 19

the time it takes for the level of a drug in the blood to decrease by 50 percent.

Question 20

Hypersensitivity

Answer 20

an allergy

Question 21

iatrogenic

Answer 21

any adverse condition resulting from medical treatment provided.

Question 22

idiosyncratic reactions

Answer 22

an unusual, unexpected reaction to a medication.

Question 23

indications

Answer 23

the conditions that must be present for a medication to be administered.

Question 24

Mechanism of action

Answer 24

the way in which a drug has its therapeutic effect on the body.

Question 25

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

Answer 25

medications with pain-relieving and fever-reducing properties and that decrease the inflammatory response.

Question 26

OTC medication

Answer 26

any drug that can be legally purchased without a prescription.

Question 27

Parasympatholytic

Answer 27

medications that reduce the actions of the parasympathetic nervous system.

Question 28

parasympathomimetics

Answer 28

classification of medications that are agonists to the parasympathetic nervous system.

Question 29

pharmacodynamics

Answer 29

the actions that drugs have on the body.

Question 30

pharmacokinetics

Answer 30

the branch of pharmacology concerned with the way drugs are absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated from the body.

Question 31

pharmacology

Answer 31

the study of the origin, nature, properties, and actions of drugs and their effects on living organisms.

Question 32

potentiation

Answer 32

the enhancement of one medication as a result of being combined with another.

Question 33

sympatholytics 

Answer 33

medications that reduce the actions of the sympathetic nervous system.

Question 34

sympathomimetics

Answer 34

a classification of medications that mimic the effects of the sympathetic nervous system.

Question 35

synergism

Answer 35

the combined action of two drugs such that the effect is greater than the sum of the individual effects of the two medications.

Question 36

teratogenic

Answer 36

medication that, when taken by a pregnant woman, may potentially deform, injure, or kill a fetus.

Question 37

therapeutic index

Answer 37

a ratio comparing a medication’s lethal dose, which would cause death in 50 percent of the population (LD50), with an effective dose of the same medication for 50 percent of the population (ED50). The closer the ratio is to 1, the less the difference is between the effective and lethal doses of a medication.

Question 38

therapeutic threshold

Answer 38

the level of medication in the blood that must be achieved for the medication to begin to have an effect.