CNPR Pharmacology & Medical Terminology 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which route of drug administration provides the fastest onset of action in emergency situations?
- Oral
- Subcutaneous
- Intravenous (Correct answer)
- Transdermal
Correct answer: Intravenous
Intravenous (IV) administration delivers drugs directly into the bloodstream, providing the fastest onset and 100% bioavailability.
Question 2: The combining form 'hepato-' relates to which organ system?
- Liver (Correct answer)
- Heart
- Kidney
- Stomach
Correct answer: Liver
The combining form 'hepato-' derives from Greek 'hepar' meaning liver, used in hepatitis and hepatology.
Question 3: Which pharmacological term describes a drug that blocks or reduces the action of a receptor?
- Full agonist
- Partial agonist
- Antagonist (Correct answer)
- Inverse agonist
Correct answer: Antagonist
An antagonist binds to a receptor without activating it, blocking the receptor from being activated by an agonist.
Question 4: The term 'dyspnea' refers to:
- Difficulty swallowing
- Difficulty breathing (Correct answer)
- Chest pain
- Irregular heartbeat
Correct answer: Difficulty breathing
Dyspnea means difficult or labored breathing; 'dys-' means difficult/abnormal and '-pnea' relates to breathing.
Question 5: Drug 'distribution' in pharmacokinetics refers to:
- Drug breakdown by liver enzymes
- Delivery of drug from systemic circulation to tissues (Correct answer)
- Elimination of drug through urine
- Absorption of drug from the gut
Correct answer: Delivery of drug from systemic circulation to tissues
Distribution describes the reversible transfer of drug from the bloodstream into tissues and organs throughout the body.
Question 6: What does the prefix 'nephro-' indicate in medical terminology?
- Nerve
- Kidney (Correct answer)
- Muscle
- Bone
Correct answer: Kidney
The prefix 'nephro-' comes from Greek 'nephros' meaning kidney, as in nephrology and nephritis.
Question 7: Which term describes a condition where two drugs taken together produce a greater effect than the sum of their individual effects?
- Antagonism
- Tolerance
- Synergism (Correct answer)
- Potentiation confusion
Correct answer: Synergism
Synergism occurs when the combined effect of two drugs exceeds the sum of their individual effects (greater than 1+1=2).
CNPR Pharmacology & Medical Terminology 4
Which route of drug administration provides the fastest onset of action in emergency situations?