- absorption
- the transmission of a drug from the site of administration to the bloodstream
- adverse drug reaction
- an undesirable, unexpected, and potentially dangerous response to a drug that occurs at therapeutic drug dosages
- affinity
- the strength of attraction of a drug to a receptor site; drugs with high affinity have a strong attraction to the receptor
- agonist
- a drug that interacts with a receptor, causing a response
- antagonist
- a drug that blocks a receptor, thus blocking an agonist from binding to the receptor and activating it
- bioavailability
- the drug concentration available to bind to receptors at its target tissue or site of action; a subcategory of absorption
- body surface area
- the total surface area of the human body; to be used as a tool in the calculation of dosing medications
- cutaneous
- relating to the skin
- deltoid
- a muscular area located above the armpit and 2 to 3 fingerbreadths below the acromion process used for small intramuscular injections (less than 1 mL of medication)
- dependence
- when the body has a physiological or psychological need for a drug
- distribution
- the transportation of medication to the sites of action via bodily fluids; it is influenced by the ability to travel to the site of action through the bloodstream
- duration of action
- the length of time that a drug’s concentration is sufficient to cause a therapeutic response
- enteral
- the administration of medication via the gastrointestinal (GI) tract
- excretion
- the elimination of drugs from the body, primarily through the kidneys
- first-pass effect
- a phenomenon in which an oral drug gets metabolized at a specific location in the body that results in a reduced concentration of the active drug upon reaching its site of action
- half-life
- the time it takes for the serum drug concentration to be reduced by 50%
- health literacy
- an individual’s ability to obtain, understand, and make appropriate decisions based on information to promote their health and wellness
- indication
- the reason why a drug might be given
- intramuscular
- the administration of a drug into a muscle
- intravenous (IV)
- the administration of a drug directly into a vein
- intrinsic activity
- the maximal effect that can be produced by a drug
- ligand
- a molecule that binds to a receiving protein molecule or receptor
- mechanism of action
- the way a drug produces its effects on the body, or the way a drug works
- medication reconciliation
- the process of identifying and verifying the most accurate list of medications that a client is taking, including the drug name, dosage, frequency, and route that the client is taking
- metabolism
- where a drug is changed into a less active or an inactive form by the action of enzymes—usually in the liver—and then is excreted in the stool or urine; metabolism prepares a drug for excretion from the body
- minimum effective concentration (MEC)
- the minimum concentration of a drug that produces an intended therapeutic effect
- onset of action
- the time at which a drug produces a therapeutic effect after drug administration
- parenteral
- the administration of medication anywhere other than the gastrointestinal (GI) tract
- partial agonist
- drugs that function as either agonists or antagonists depending upon the level of the surrounding full agonist
- peak
- the time during which a drug has the maximum serum concentration
- pharmacodynamics
- the way a drug interacts with receptors, target cells, body systems, and organs to produce effects, or what the drug does to the body
- pharmacokinetics
- the movement of a drug through the body, or what the body does to the drug
- receptor
- a reactive site on the surface or inside of a cell; often what happens with a drug is that it attaches itself to a receptor to elicit a therapeutic response
- side effect
- secondary effects produced by a drug at therapeutic doses
- subcutaneous
- the administration of a drug into the adipose (fat) tissue
- therapeutic effectiveness
- the drug is doing what the drug is supposed to do—the most important quality a drug should have
- therapeutic index
- the ratio of the dose of a drug that produces a therapeutic effect to the dose that causes toxicity; sometimes known as the therapeutic window
- tolerance
- a condition where the body adapts to a substance (drug) after repeated administration, and gradually, over time, the body requires higher doses to achieve the same initial effect (often seen in opioid use)
- toxicity
- excessive amounts of a serum drug level in the body, usually seen when the body’s normal mechanism for metabolizing or excreting a drug is compromised
- transdermal
- topical administration of a drug through a patch on the skin
- ventrogluteal
- a muscular area below the iliac crest on the lateral aspect of the thigh considered to be the safest, most preferred site for intramuscular injections