MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES

MARAWI CITY

NSG 105 PHARMACOLOGY

MODULE 1 : Introduction to Pharmacology

 Definition of Pharmacology
 Drug Names and Classes
 Controlled Substances
 Drug Sources
 Phases of Drug Evaluation
 Drug Information

Compiled by:

DIONIELEE APRIL D. SANORIA, RN, MN

MSU - College of Health Sciences

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 MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
MARAWI CITY

Nursing and Pharmacology

Pharmacology
= is the study of the actions of drugs, incorporating knowledge from other interrelated
sciences, such as pharmacokinetics (how the body absorbs, distributes, metabolizes, and
excretes a drug) and pharmacodynamics (a drug’s mechanism of action and effect on an
organism).
= is derived from the Greek words:
Pharmakon - “drug/medicine” in modern Greek, “poison” inclassic Greek and
Logos - “study” or the knowledge gained through study.”

DRUG NAMES
Nearly every drug has three different names.
1. Chemical name is the scientific name that precisely describes its atomic and
molecular structure.
2. Generic, or non-proprietary, name typically is an abbreviation of its chemical
name. It is the “official name” of the drug; there is only one generic name for any drug
or medication.
3. Trade name, also called the brand or proprietary name, is selected by the
drug manufacturer. Trade names are protected by copyright.
Example:

DRUG CLASSES
Every drug also belongs to at least two classes:
1. Pharmacologic class. Drugs with similar chemical characteristics, such as beta blockers,
fall into the same pharmacologic class.

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 MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
MARAWI CITY

2. Therapeutic class Drugs used to treat the same disorder fall into the same therapeutic
class. For example, all drugs used to treat hypertension are part of the antihypertensive
therapeutic class, even if they belong to different pharmacologic classes.

Prescription and Nonprescription Drugs

 Prescription Drugs - needs to obtain a prescription for the drug from a licensed
provider, such as a physician, dentist, or nurse practitioner
 Nonprescription Drugs - do not require a prescription on an over-the-counter (OTC)
basis.

Controlled Substances

The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act was passed in 1970 an regulates
the manufacturing and distribution of substances with a potential for abuse — examples
include narcotics, hallucinogens, stimulants, depressants, and anabolic steroids.

These controlled substances are categorized by schedule (Schedules I–V), based on their
therapeutic use and potential for abuse.

DRUG SOURCES
Traditionally, drugs were derived from natural sources, such as plants, animals, and minerals.

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 MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
MARAWI CITY

Plants
The earliest drugs used all parts of the plants, including the leaves, roots, bulb, stem, seeds,
buds, and blossoms. Because of this, harmful substances commonly found their way into the
mixture.
Active components of plants.
✦ Alkaloids, the most active component in plants, react with acids to form a salt that
dissolves readily in body fluids. The names of alkaloids and their salts usually
end in –ine, such as atropine, caffeine, and nicotine.
✦ Glycosides, their names usually end in –in like digoxin.
✦ Gums, usually in the form of polysaccharides, produce viscous solutions and allow products
to attract and hold water. An example is psyllium, which is found in over-the-counter (OTC)
laxatives.
✦ Resins, primarily from pine tree sap, can be used for their actions as local irritants,
laxatives, and caustic agents.
✦ Oils, which are thick and sometimes greasy liquids, may be volatile or fixed.

Animals
Body fluids and glands of animals also can serve as drug sources. Drugs obtained from animal
sources include:
✦ Hormones such as insulin
✦ oils and fats such as cod-liver oil
✦ enzymes, which are produced by living cells and act as catalysts, such as pancreatin and
pepsin
✦ vaccines, which are suspensions of killed, modified, or attenuated microorganisms.

Minerals
 Metallic and nonmetallic minerals provide inorganic material that isn’t available from plants or
animals.
Minerals may be used as they occur in nature or may be combined with other ingredients.

Synthetic drugs
Today, researchers blend traditional knowledge with modern chemistry to develop synthetic
drugs.
Advantages of synthetic drugs:
1. they’re free from the impurities found in natural substances.

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 MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
MARAWI CITY

drug developers can manipulate a drug’s molecular structure slightly to make it more effective.

DRUG INFORMATION

What Is a Drug?

= drug is a substance or chemical capable of altering a biochemical or physiological process(es) in the body;
these responses may be desirable (therapeutic) or undesirable (adverse).
= This is a vital tenet of pharmacology: drugs do not confer any new functions on a tissue or organ in the
body; they simply modify existing functions.
= For example, drugs can only affect the rate at which existing biologic functions proceed: they can speed up
or slow down the biochemical reactions that cause muscles to contract, kidney cells to regulate the volume
of water and salts retained or eliminated by the body, glands to secrete substances (such as mucus, stomach
acid, or insulin), and nerves to transmit messages.

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 MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
MARAWI CITY

= Within the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C), the United States Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) defines a drug* as:
1. A substance recognized by an official pharmacopoeia or formulary.
2. A substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease.
3. A substance (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body.
4. A substance intended for use as a component of a medicine but not a device or a component, part
or accessory of a device.
= a medication is defined as a drug that is used for the purpose of restoring a dysfunctional or pathologic
process in the body to its desired function or process; conventionally termed a “medicine”. The terms drug and
medication are synonymous with what the FDA defines as an active ingredient. An active ingredient is any
component that provides pharmacological activity or other direct effect in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation,
treatment, or prevention of disease, or to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or animals
(FDA, n.d.).

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