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The dictionary · Pharmacology

pharmacology

far-muh-KOL-uh-jee noun Spanish farmacología

The study of drugs: what they are, how they work in the body and how the body handles them.

Built from
pharmac/odrug-logystudy of

drug + study of. Read the parts, and the word explains itself.

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What it means

The science of medications. It includes pharmacokinetics, what the body does to a drug (absorptionub-ZORP-shunThe taking in of a substance, such as a drug or a nutrient, into the bloodstream.Full entry , distribution, metabolism and excretionek-SKREE-shunThe removal of wastes, or of a drug and its breakdown products, from the body.Full entry ), and pharmacodynamics, what the drug does to the body. Nurses use pharmacology to give drugs safely, watch for expected and harmful effects, and teach clients.

At a glance
Spanish
farmacología
Also written
pharmacologic, pharmacological
Filed under
Pharmacology
How a word looks in a practice question

A client’s heart rate is 128 beats per minute an hour after surgery. Which finding is the most likely cause of the tachycardia?

A. A urine output of 50 mL/hrB. A blood pressure of 88/50 mm HgC. A temperature of 37.0 °C
tachycardiatak-ih-KAR-dee-uh

A heart rate faster than normal; in an adult, more than 100 beats per minute.

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