Pharmacology Terms
Terms
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- drug
- Any substance taken by mouth; injected into a muscle, blood vessel, or cavity of the body; or applied topically to treat or prevent a disease or condition.
- pharmaceutics
- The science of dispensing drugs.
- chemical name
- The exact designation of a chemical structure as determned by the rules of chemical nomenclature.
- generic name
- The official, established name assigned to a drug.
- trade name
- The trademark name of a drug, designated by the drug company that sells the medication.
- official name
- The name of a drug that is followed by the initials USP (United States Pharmacopeia) or NF (National Formulary), denoting its listing in one of the official publications; usually the same as the generic name.
- agonist
- Drugs that combine with receptors and initiate the expected response.
- antagonist
- Agents designed to inhibit or counteract the effects of other drugs or undesired effects caused by normal or hyperactive physiological mechanisms.
- pharmacokinetics
- The study of how the body handles a drug over a period of time, including the processes of absorption, distribution, biotransformation, and excretion.
- absorption
- The process by which drug molecules are moved from the site of entry into the body into the general circulation.
- distribution
- The transport of a drug through the bloodstream to various tissues of the body and ultimately to its site of action.
- biotransformation
- The process by which a drug is converted chemically to a metabolite.
- excretion
- The elimination of toxic or inactive metabolites, primarily by the kidneys; the intestines, lungs, and mammary, sweat, and salivary glands also may be involved.
- loading dose
- A large quantity of drug that temporarily exceeds the capacity of the body to excrete that drug.
- maintenance dose
- The amount of a drug required to keep a desired steady state of drug concentration in tissues.
- parenteral
- Of or pertaining to any medication route other than the alimentary canal.
- first-pass metabolism
- The initial biotransformation of a drug during passage through the liver from the portal vein that occurs before the drug reaches the general circulation.
- placental barrier
- A protective biological membrane that separates the blood vessels of the mother and the fetus.
- biological half-life
- The time required to metabolize or eliminate half the total amount of drug in the body.
- drug interaction
- Modification of the effects of one drug by the previous or concurrent administration of another drug, thereby increasing or diminishing the pharmacological or physiological action of one or both drugs.
- pharmacodynamics
- The study of how a drug acts on a living organism.
- drug receptors
- Parts of a cell (usually an enzyme or large protein molecule) with which a drug molecule interacts to trigger its desired response or effect.
- therapeutic index
- A measurement of the relative safety of a drug.
- contraindications
- Medical or physiological factors that make it harmful to administer a medication that would otherwise have a therapeutic effect.