General Pharmacology Intro Flashcards
(28 cards)
What is pharmacology?
It is the science that deals with the effects of drugs on living system
What is the WHO definition of a drug?
WHO defines a drug as “Any substance or product that is used or intended to be used to modify or explore physiological systems or pathological states for the benefit of the recipient”
What is pharmacokinetics?
It means the movement of the drug within the body; it includes the process of absorption (A), distribution (D), metabolism (M), excretion (E). It means what the body does to the drug
Define pharmacodynamics.
It is the study of drugs - Their mechanism of action, pharmacological action and their adverse effects. It covers all aspects relating to ‘what the drug does to the body’
Define pharmacy.
The branch of science that deals with the preparation, preservation, standardisation, compounding, dispensing and proper utilisation of drugs.
Define Therapeutics.
Aspect of medicine concerned with treatment of diseases.
What is Toxicology?
It is the study of poisons, their actions, detection, prevention and the treatment of poisoning.
Define essential medicines
According to WHO, essential medicines are ‘those that satisfy the healthcare needs of majority of the population’
Define Orphan drug.
Drugs that are used for the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of rare diseases
What are Over the counter drugs?
These drugs can be sold to a patient without the need for a doctors prescription. E.g paracetamol, antacids
What are prescription drugs?
These are drugs that can be obtained only upon producing the prescription of a registered medical practitioner.
What is pharmacopoeia?
It is a book which contains a list of established and officially approved drugs with description of their physical and chemical characteristics and tests for their identification, purity, methods of storage etc. Some pharmacopoeias are Indian pharmacopeia, British Pharmacopoeia, European pharmacopoeia
What is a Formulary?
A formulary provides information about the available drugs in a country - their use, dosage, adverse effects, contraindications, precautions, warnings and guidance on selecting the right drug for a range of conditions
Describe drug nomenclature.
Drugs have three types of names
1) Chemical Name: It denotes the chemical structure of a drug e.g. acetylsalicylic acid is the chemical name of aspirin and N-acetyl-p-aminophenol for paracetamol
2) Non-Proprietary Name or Generic name: It is the name assigned by a competent scientific body/ authority e.g. aspirin and paracetamol are generic names
3) Proprietary or Brand Name: It is the name given by drug manufacturers e.g. Disprin is a brand name for Aspirin; Crocin for paracetamol
What is the study of doses called?
Posology
What is a dose?
A dose is a certain amount of a drug which is given at a particular time and can produce an observable/significant biological response in an organ or the whole body.
What is minimal dose?
It is the smallest amount of drug given to produce an observable pharmacological change.
What is therapeutic/effective dose?
It is the amount of drug which can produce a desirable effect.
What is median effective dose or ED50?
This is the amount of drug which produces the desired effects in 50% of tested subjects.
What is maintenance dose?
It is the amount of drug that maintains steady state of drug in plasma
What is loading dose?
The amount of drug given to quickly increase the drug plasma concentration to get the desired effects quickly
What is maximum tolerated dose?
The maximum dose of a drug that a patient can tolerate without serious unwanted effects
Toxic dose?
Amount of drug capable of seriously endangering health
What is Median toxic dose or TD50?
It is the amount of drug which proves toxic for 50% of tested subjects
