CCMP Exam Preparation Notes

MUHS Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP)

Paper 1 | Pharmacology

Paper 2 | Clinical & Allied Subjects, including Community Medicine

General Pharmacology

2 Marks Questions & Answers

Q1. Define Pharmacology.

Answer: Pharmacology is the branch of medical science that deals with the study of drugs, their actions, uses and adverse effects on living organisms.

Q2. Define Drug.

Answer: A drug is a chemical substance used for the diagnosis, prevention, treatment or relief of a disease.

Q3. What are the sources of drugs?

Answer:

• Plant – Atropine, Morphine.
• Animal – Heparin.
• Mineral – Iron, Magnesium.
• Microorganisms – Penicillin.
• Synthetic – Paracetamol.

Q4. Define Pharmacokinetics.

Answer: Pharmacokinetics is the study of what the body does to a drug.It includes four processes (ADME):

• Absorption.
• Distribution.
• Metabolism.
• Excretion.

Q5. Define Pharmacodynamics.

Answer: Pharmacodynamics is the study of what a drug does to the body, including its mechanism of action and effects.

Q6. What is Drug Absorption?

Answer: Drug absorption is the process by which a drug moves from its site of administration into the bloodstream.

Q7. What is Bioavailability?

Answer: Bioavailability is the fraction of an administered drug dose that reaches the systemic circulation in unchanged form.

Q8. Define Drug Distribution.

Answer: Drug distribution is the process by which a drug is transported from the bloodstream to different tissues and organs.

Q9. What is Drug Metabolism?

Answer: Drug metabolism is the chemical alteration of drugs in the body, mainly in the liver, to facilitate their elimination.

Q10. What is Drug Excretion?

Answer: Drug excretion is the removal of drugs and their metabolites from the body, mainly through the kidneys in urine.

Q11. Define Half-life of a Drug.

Answer: Drug half-life (t½) is the time required for the plasma concentration of a drug to decrease by 50%.

Q12. What is First-pass Metabolism?

Answer: First-pass metabolism is the metabolism of an orally administered drug in the intestinal wall and liver before it reaches systemic circulation.

Q13. Define Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR).

Answer: An adverse drug reaction is an unwanted and harmful response to a drug occurring at normally used doses.

Q14. What is Drug Tolerance?

Answer: Drug tolerance is a condition in which repeated administration of a drug produces a reduced response, requiring a higher dose to achieve the same effect.

Q15. Define Drug Dependence.

Answer: Drug dependence is a condition in which a person develops a physical or psychological need to continue using a particular drug.

Q16. What is a Drug Interaction?

Answer: A drug interaction occurs when one drug, food or substance alters the effect of another drug, increasing or decreasing its action or toxicity.

Q17. Define Therapeutic Index.

Answer: Therapeutic index is the ratio between the toxic dose and the effective dose of a drug.TI = TD 50 / ED 50

Q18. What is an Agonist?

Answer: An agonist is a drug that binds to a receptor and activates it to produce a biological response.

Q19. What is an Antagonist?

Answer: An antagonist is a drug that binds to a receptor and blocks the action of an agonist without activating the receptor.

Q20. What is the First-pass Effect’s clinical importance?

Answer: It reduces the bioavailability of certain orally administered drugs due to metabolism before reaching systemic circulation. Sublingual administration can bypass this effect.