Pharmacology Glossary

102 terms

Absorption: Drug entry into bloodstream.
Active Ingredient: Therapeutic component of drug.
Adherence: Taking drug as prescribed.
Adverse Event Reporting: Problem reporting.
Adverse Reaction: Harmful drug response.
Agonist: Receptor activator.
Antagonism: Reduced combined effect.
Antagonist: Receptor blocker.
Bioavailability: Drug amount reaching circulation.
Bioequivalence: Same biological effect.
Black Box Warning: Serious risk notice.
Blood-Brain Barrier: Brain protection system.
Brand Name: Trade name of drug.
Carcinogenicity: Cancer causing potential.
Clearance: Drug removal rate.
Clinical Trial: Drug testing study.
Compliance: Following drug instructions.
Contraindication: Reason not to use drug.
Control Group: Comparison group.
Controlled Release: Timed drug release.
Cross-reactivity: Similar drug reaction.
Cross-tolerance: Similar drug tolerance.
Dependence: Drug need development.
Distribution: Drug spread through body.
Dosage Form: Physical form of medication.
Dose Interval: Time between doses.
Double Blind: Neither knows real drug.
Drug: Substance affecting body function.
Drug Delivery: Getting drug to target.
Drug Design: New drug planning.
Drug Development: New drug creation.
Drug-Food Interaction: Food affecting drug.
Drug Interaction: Drugs affecting each other.
Drug Monitoring: Level checking.
Drug Recall: Market removal.
Efficacy: Drug effectiveness.
Excipient: Inactive drug ingredient.
Excretion: Drug removal from body.
Expiration Date: Drug use time limit.
First Pass Effect: Initial liver processing.
Formulation: Drug preparation method.
Generic Drug: Non-brand name drug.
Good Manufacturing Practice: Production standards.
Half-life: Time for drug level halving.
High-Throughput Screening: Mass drug testing.
Idiosyncrasy: Unusual drug response.
Indication: Reason to use drug.
Inhalation: Breathing in drug.
Inverse Agonist: Opposite receptor effect.
Lead Compound: Starting drug molecule.
Loading Dose: Initial higher drug dose.
Maintenance Dose: Regular sustaining dose.
Mechanism of Action: How drug works.
Medication: Substance used to treat disease.
Minimum Effective Concentration: Lowest effective drug level.
Mutagenicity: Gene damage potential.
Non-competitive Inhibition: Different site blocking.
Oral Administration: Taking drug by mouth.
Over-the-counter: No prescription needed.
Parenteral Administration: Non-oral drug administration.
Partial Agonist: Weak receptor activator.
Patent: Drug exclusive rights.
Peak Level: Maximum drug concentration.
Personalized Medicine: Individual drug therapy.
Pharmaceutical: Manufactured medical drug.
Pharmacodynamics: Drug effects on body.
Pharmacogenetics: Genetic drug response.
Pharmacogenomics: Genetic drug study.
Pharmacokinetics: Drug movement in body.
Pharmacology: Study of drug actions.
Pharmacovigilance: Safety monitoring.
Phase III Trial: Large scale testing.
Phase II Trial: Small scale efficacy test.
Phase I Trial: Initial human testing.
Phase IV Trial: Post-market monitoring.
Placebo: Inactive treatment.
Post-marketing Surveillance: After sale monitoring.
Potentiation: Increased drug effect.
Prescription: Drug order document.
Protein Binding: Drug-protein attachment.
Quality Assurance: Meeting standards.
Randomization: Random treatment assignment.
Regulatory Affairs: Rule compliance.
Risk-Benefit Ratio: Comparing good and bad.
Risk Management: Safety planning.
Route of Administration: Method of giving drug.
Safety: Freedom from harm.
Side Effect: Unwanted drug effect.
Stability: Drug unchanged storage.
Steady State: Stable drug concentration.
Storage Conditions: Drug keeping requirements.
Structure-Activity Relationship: Structure effect link.
Synergism: Enhanced combined effect.
Tachyphylaxis: Rapid tolerance.
Targeted Delivery: Specific site delivery.
Teratogenicity: Birth defect risk.
Therapeutic Index: Safety margin measure.
Therapeutic Window: Safe effective drug range.
Topical Application: Surface drug application.
Toxic Level: Harmful drug concentration.
Volume of Distribution: Drug spread measure.
Withdrawal: Stopping drug effects.