Introduction to Pharmacology- Claire Flashcards
(23 cards)
What is Pharmacology?
The study of the effects of drugs on the function of living systems.
Pharmacology- drugs:
*Synthetic chemicals
*Plant or animal products
*Products of genetic engineering
The goal is to understand mechanisms by which drugs act
Pharmacy:
*Science of preparation & compounding
Legal aspects concerning dispensing
*To public & corporate institutions (including NHS)
Pharmacogenetics:
*Study of genetic influences on responses to drugs
*Inter-individual variation
Pharmacogenomics:
*Use of genetic information to guide drug therapy
Pharmacokinetics:
*Determines drug concentration
*Mathematical disposition:
Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion
*Effects of biological systems on drug
What the body does to the drug.
Pharmacodynamics:
*Actions of drug on target organ
*Magnitude of effect at a particular concentration
What the drug does to the body.
Drug nomenclature:
*Chemical (IUPAC)
-Chemical composition/molecular structure
-7-chloro-1,3-dihydro-1-methyl-5-phenyl-2H-1,4-diazepin-2-on
*Generic
-Often used by pharmacologists
-Diazepam
*Brand
*Often used by drug companies
Valium (Roche)
Bensedin (Galenika)
Drug Disposition
Route of administration:
Enteral, Parenteral or Other
Enteral routes:
-Directly into GIT
-Oral
-Sublingual
-Nasogastric
-Rectal
Parenteral routes:
Not enteral
-By injection:
*Subcutaneous
*Intramuscular
*Intravenous
*Intradermal
*Intrathecal
Other routes:
-Topical
-Transdermal
-Inhalation
-Intranasal
Enteral administration
Different formulations
*Capsules, tablets, lozenges
*Advantages
*Cheap & easy
*Semi-reversible?
*Disadvantages
*Sometimes cannot be administered
*Loss of efficacy from absorption
*Slow onset of action
Other routes of administration:
Topical
*Exterior epithelial surfaces
*Soften, disinfect, numb
*Eyedrops
*Transdermal
*E.g. nitroglycerin
*Inhalation
*Intranasal
Factors affecting absorption:
-Admin route
-Formulation
-Absorptive surface
-Other drugs
-GI-specific
-Food or fluids
-Acidity of stomach
-GI motility
What is the most important factor?
Admin route
What can fatty foods do?
Fatty foods can slow gastric emptying
Summary of content:
*Drugs can come from a variety of different sources (including natural & synthetic)
*Pharmacokinetics is what the body does to the drug in order for the drug to do something to the body (pharmacodynamics)
*Different drugs have different routes of administration
*Most drugs are administered orally and many factors can affect absorption
What factors affect absorption?
Administration route of the drug
Food or fluid administered with the drug
Dosage formulation
Status of the absorptive surface
Rate of blood flow to small intestine
Acidity of the stomach
Status of GI
Absorption of an orally administered drug is dependent on?
Disintegration, dissolution and diffusion
Disintegration is?
Time for solid dosage to form of a drug to break down into finer particles in the gut
Where does absorption occur?
Small intestine and stomach
What is bioavailability?
Fraction of dose which reaches systemic circulation
