LECTURE 1: CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY Flashcards
What is a drug?
A substance that acts on living systems at the molecular, cellular or whole body level to provoke changes in physiology or psychology
Why are drugs now made synthetical in labs, as opposed to retrieving from plant and animal sources
- Cheaper to make = more accessible
- Can manipulate and improve natural compounds
- Less product variability
What is pharmocology?
the study of the interaction between chemicals (drugs) and living system
What is toxicology
it is a branch of pharmacology that specifically studies the adverse effects of chemicals on living systems
What was early medicine was based on
philosophy, alchemy and herbalism
A transition from alchemy to modern chemistry allowed for
a better understanding
1920s: A.J. Clark discovers
drug receptors
What is Pharmacy
the science of preparing and dispensing the drugs produced by pharmacologists
Drugs can be named by their
- function
- class
- chemical name
- generic name
- trade
Clinical pharmacology:
the study of drug effects in humans
Therapeutics:
the branch of medicine concerned with the
treatment of disease
Drug receptor:
the molecular components of the body that
drugs interact with to exert an effect. Receptors are usually proteins located on the outer membrane of cells, and are targets for therapeutics and drug discovery/research
Pharmacodynamics:
what a drug does to the body
Pharmacokinetics:
what the body does to a drug (Absorption,
Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion)
Pharmacogenetics:
the study of the relationship between
genetic factors and variations in drug response
