Universidad de Guadalajara

Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud

Departamento de Fisiología

Carrera de Médico Cirujano y Partero

Medical Pharmacology

Angélica María Palacio Delgado

21656297

DEFINITIONS
Unit #1: General Concepts of Pharmacology

Dr. David Cardona Muller

February 23rd, 2021.

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 Universidad de Guadalajara
Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud
Departamento de Fisiología

DEFINITIONS
Pharmacology. – Pharmacology is the biomedical science concerned with the
interaction of chemical substances with living cells, tissues, and organisms. It is
particularly concerned with the mechanisms by which drugs counteract the
manifestations of disease and affect fertility.
Drug. - A drug is any substance (except for food and water) which, when taken
into the body, alters the body’s function either physically and/or psychologically.
Drugs may be legal (e.g. alcohol, caffeine and tobacco) or illegal (e.g. cannabis,
ecstasy, cocaine and heroin).
Xenobiotic. - A chemical that is not used by the reference organism as a nutrient
chemical, is not essential to the reference organism for maintenance of normal
physiologic/biochemical function and homeostasis and does not constitute a part of
the conventional array of chemicals synthesized from nutrient chemicals by the
reference organism in normal intermediary metabolism.
Poison.- A drug that can kill.
Pharmacodynamics.- The study of the actions of drugs on target organs. What
the drug does to the body.
Pharmacokinetics.- The processes that determine the concentration of drugs in
body fluids and tissues over time, including drug absorption, distribution,
biotransformation (metabolism), and excretion. What the body does to the drug.
Pharmacoepidemiology.- The study of the utilization and effects of drugs in large
numbers of people; it provides an estimate of the probability of beneficial effects of
a drug in a population and the probability of adverse effects. It can be called a
bridge science spanning both clinical pharmacology and epidemiology.
Pharmacy.- The science and art concerned with the preparation and
standardization of drugs. Its scope includes the cultivation of plants that are used
as drugs, the synthesis of chemical compounds of medicinal value, and the
analysis of medicinal agents.
Bioequivalence.- the absence of a significant difference in the rate and extent of
drug available at the site of action after dosing of a test product, compared to a
reference product.
Bioavailability.- The rate and extent of drug available at the site of action.
Efficacy.- Is the maximum effect which can be expected from the drug (i.e. when
this magnitude of effect is reached, increasing the dose will not produce a greater
magnitude of effect)

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 Universidad de Guadalajara
Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud
Departamento de Fisiología

Collateral effect.- Unintended effect occurring at normal dose related to the

pharmacological properties.
Secondary effect.- An undesired effect that occurs when the medication is
administered regardless of the dose. Unlike adverse events, side effects are mostly
foreseen by the physician and the patient is told to be aware of the effects that
could happen while on the therapy. Side effects differ from adverse events and
later resolve on their own with time after taking the medication for several weeks.
Adverse effect.- An undesired occurrence that results from taking a medication
correctly. They occur less often and are influenced by patient-specific susceptibility
factors such as drug allergies and intolerances.
Action Mechanism.- Describes the process by which a molecule, such as a drug,
functions to produce a pharmacological effect. A drug’s mechanism of action may
refer to its effects on a biological readout such as cell growth, or its interaction and
modulation of its direct biomolecular target, for example a protein or nucleic acid.
Effect.- A consequence of the medical treatment of any kind, the results of which
are judged to be desirable and beneficial. This is true whether the result was
expected, unexpected, or even an unintended consequence of the treatment.
Absorption.- The movement of drug into the bloodstream, with the rate dependent
on the physical characteristics of the drug and its formulation.
Distribution.- The process of a drug leaving the bloodstream and going into the
organs and tissues.
Diffusion.- Passive diffusion – Low molecular weight drugs that are both water and
lipid soluble dissolve in membrane and cross to the other side. Primary means by
which drugs cross membranes. Drugs dissolve and cross the cell membrane
following concentration gradient.
Active transport.- Movement of a solute from a region of low electrochemical
potential on one side of the cell membrane to a region of higher electrochemical
potential on the opposite side.

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 Universidad de Guadalajara
Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud
Departamento de Fisiología

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Bioavailability and Bioequivalence. Developing Solid Oral Dosage Forms,
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4. Reynolds, M. C. (2020). Pharmacoepidemiology Research. JOHNS

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5. Krantz, J. C. and Hartley. (2017). Pharmacy. Encyclopedia Britannica.

Recovered on February 23rd, 2021, from
https://www.britannica.com/science/pharmacy

6. Neubig. (2019). Potency and efficacy. Deranged Physiology. Recovered on

February 23rd, 2021, from https://derangedphysiology.com/main/cicm-
primary-exam/required-reading/pharmacodynamics/Chapter%20415/
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7. Leheny. (2017). «Adverse Event,» Not the Same as «Side Effect».

Pharmacy Times. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/contributor/shelby-
leheny-pharmd-candidate-2017/2017/02/adverse-event-not-the-same-as-
side-effect

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 Universidad de Guadalajara
Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud
Departamento de Fisiología

8. Nature. (2021). Chemical systems biology reveals mechanisms of

glucocorticoid receptor signaling.
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9. Aplmed Academy. (2020). 2.4. Therapeutic effect | Aplmed Academy.

Aplmed Academy | Denver training medical courses program. CAN, Dental,
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10. Paul, D. (2011) Regulation of Drug Transport, Absorption, Distribution,

Excretion and Metabolism. LSU School of Medicine.
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11. Grassl, S. M. (2012). Mechanisms of Carrier-Mediated Transport. Cell

Physiology Source Book, 153–165. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-387738-
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12. Brenner, & Stevens. (2017). Brenner and Stevens’ Pharmacology (5.a ed.).
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