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2.1: Main Terms

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    87668
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    Absorption – the process by which drugs are absorbed into the blood stream

    Adverse effects – harmful results from a drug

    Agonist – a drug that causes a cell action

    Antagonist – a drug that prohibits a cell action

    Blood level – the amount of drug in the blood at the time of the test

    Comorbidity – the state of being diagnosed with more than one disease or condition

    Desired effect – the ability of a drug to achieve what is expected

    Distribution – the process of drug circulation through the bloodstream

    Excretion – the process of drug elimination from the body

    Half-life – the time it takes for the body to break down one-half of the drug administered

    Indication – the desired purpose of a drug

    Interactions – a reaction between two or more drugs or between a drug and food

    Loading dose – the amount of drug needed to quickly increase blood level

    Local effects – when a drug affects a small area of the body

    Maintenance dose – the amount of drug needed to maintain therapeutic drug levels

    Metabolism – the process of a drug being broken down

    Pharmacokinetics – the study of how drugs move throughout the body

    Polypharmacy – when patients take more than one drug

    Potentiation – the phenomenon in which one drug increases the effectiveness of another drug

    Right documentation – a step of the nine rights of medication administration

    Right dose – a step of the nine rights of medication administration

    Right education – a step of the nine rights of medication administration

    Right medication – a step of the nine rights of medication administration

    Right patient – a step of the nine rights of medication administration

    Right technique – a step of the nine rights of medication administration

    Right time – a step of the nine rights of medication administration

    Right to refuse – a step of the nine rights of medication administration

    Side effects – unpleasant effects of drugs

    Synergism – the phenomenon whereby the combined effect of two or more drugs is greater than the sum of the effects of the drugs if given alone

    Systemic effects – effects that a drug has on the entire body


    This page titled 2.1: Main Terms is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Anna Jannak (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI)) .

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