Drug Sources and Pharmacology Areas Quiz

Terminology in Pharmacology

• Therapeutic Use of Drugs: Refers to the specific applications of medications for treatment purposes.
• Harmful Effects: Describes adverse effects of drugs that may damage vital organs with long-term use, highlighting the potential risks related to continuous medication.
• Pharmacokinetics: The area of pharmacology that studies how drugs move through the body, including absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.

Sources and Drug Approval

• Main Source of New Drugs: Natural products remain the primary source for the development of new pharmaceuticals, emphasizing the importance of natural compounds in drug design.
• Drug Approval Requirements: Drugs must pass rigorous testing to demonstrate safety and efficacy before being approved for human use, ensuring only reliable medications reach the market.

Drug Effects and Mechanisms

• Undesirable Drug Effects: These include effects categorized as adverse, which imply drug poisoning, illustrating the serious impact of certain pharmacological agents.
• Agonists: Drugs that bind to specific receptors in the body, resulting in a biological effect, playing a central role in pharmacodynamics.
• Antagonists: Medications that bind to receptors but do not activate them, blocking the action of agonists and impacting cellular functions.

Pharmacological Principles

• Time vs. Plasma Drug Concentration Curve: This relationship is depicted graphically and is critical in understanding the pharmacokinetic behavior of drugs over time.
• Dose-Response Relationship: A fundamental concept illustrating that the effect of a drug increases with the dose, highlighting the importance of determining appropriate dosing for therapeutic benefits.