ESIC Pharmacist Recruitment Exam key terms

The fraction of an administered drug dose that reaches the systemic circulation unchanged, together with the rate at which it arrives. Intravenous dosing is taken as 100 percent; oral values are lower because of incomplete absorption and first-pass metabolism.

Presystemic breakdown of an orally absorbed drug in gut wall or liver before it enters general circulation, lowering oral bioavailability. Drugs such as propranolol and nitroglycerin are markedly affected, which is why some are given sublingually or parenterally.

The demonstration that two pharmaceutical products containing the same active ingredient reach the systemic circulation at comparable rate and extent. Regulators accept a 90 percent confidence interval for AUC and Cmax falling within 80 to 125 percent of the reference product.

An inactive or less active chemical derivative that is converted in the body to the active drug, usually by enzymatic hydrolysis or oxidation. Examples include enalapril to enalaprilat and sulfasalazine to aminosalicylate in the colon.

The systematic link between a molecule's structural features, such as functional groups, stereochemistry and lipophilicity, and its observed biological effect. It guides lead optimisation and explains why small changes can abolish or enhance activity.

The minimal set of spatial and electronic features of a molecule that is necessary for a specific biological response. It is an abstract pattern, not a real molecule, and is used to design analogues and to search compound libraries.

A ligand that binds a receptor and shifts it into an active state, producing a graded response. Full agonists achieve maximal effect; partial agonists produce submaximal responses even at full occupancy.

A drug that binds reversibly at the same site as the agonist and can be overcome by raising agonist concentration. It shifts the dose-response curve rightwards without lowering the maximum response.

A safety ratio comparing a dose producing toxicity with a dose producing the desired effect, often expressed as TD50 divided by ED50. A narrow index, as with digoxin or lithium, demands plasma monitoring.

The time needed for plasma concentration of a drug to fall by half during elimination. It determines dosing interval and time to steady state, which is roughly four to five half-lives for most drugs.

The volume of plasma from which a drug is completely removed per unit time. Total clearance is the sum of hepatic, renal and other clearances, and together with volume of distribution it fixes the elimination half-life.

A naturally occurring nitrogen-containing basic compound found mainly in plants, usually with marked pharmacological action. Examples include morphine, quinine, atropine and vincristine; alkaloids are extracted after basification into organic solvents.

A plant constituent in which a sugar is linked through a glycosidic bond to a non-sugar aglycone. Cardiac glycosides such as digoxin and sennosides used as laxatives are classic examples; hydrolysis separates sugar from aglycone.

The study of crude drugs of natural origin, covering their botanical source, cultivation, collection, drying, identification, chemistry and standardisation. It also includes evaluation of adulterants and preservation of herbal material.

An official book of drug standards issued by a recognised authority, giving monographs on identity, purity, assay and storage. The Indian Pharmacopoeia is published under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act framework.

A separation technique in which components distribute differently between a stationary phase and a moving mobile phase. Variants include thin-layer, gas, high-performance liquid and column chromatography, widely used for assay and impurity testing.

Documented evidence that a process, method or system consistently produces results meeting predetermined specifications. Analytical validation covers accuracy, precision, specificity, linearity, range, detection and quantitation limits, and robustness.

That part of quality assurance ensuring products are consistently made and controlled to quality standards appropriate for their use. It covers premises, personnel, documentation, validation, complaint handling and batch release by a competent person.

The part of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules that lays down factory premises, plant and equipment requirements for manufacturing drugs and cosmetics. Revised Schedule M tightened quality assurance, stability and documentation expectations for Indian manufacturers.

A government officer appointed under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act who enforces drug law by inspecting premises, drawing samples, seizing stock and launching prosecutions. Qualifications and powers are set out in the Act and Rules.

Indian legislation that created the Pharmacy Council of India and state councils, and regulates pharmacy education and registration. Only registered pharmacists may compound, dispense or conduct the retail sale of medicines.

A continually revised list of medicines selected by the pharmacy and therapeutics committee, with prescribing information and policies. It promotes rational, cost-effective prescribing within a hospital and is a core hospital pharmacy tool.

The science of detecting, assessing, understanding and preventing adverse effects or any other drug-related problem after marketing. Activities include spontaneous reporting, signal detection and periodic safety update reports.

Any noxious and unintended response to a medicine at doses normally used in humans for prophylaxis, diagnosis or therapy. Reactions are classified by mechanism, for example dose-related type A and idiosyncratic type B.

The lowest concentration of an antimicrobial that visibly prevents growth of a standardised bacterial inoculum after incubation. It guides susceptibility reporting and dosing decisions in infection management.

An apparatus that sterilises materials using saturated steam under pressure, typically at 121 degrees Celsius and 15 psi for 15 to 20 minutes. It is the standard method for aqueous solutions, dressings and surgical instruments.

The complete destruction or removal of all viable microorganisms, including spores, from an article or medium. Methods include moist heat, dry heat, filtration, radiation and gaseous agents such as ethylene oxide.

The study of reaction rates catalysed by enzymes and how they change with substrate concentration, inhibitors and conditions. Michaelis-Menten parameters Km and Vmax describe affinity and maximal velocity.

A mitochondrial sequence of reactions that oxidises acetyl coenzyme A to carbon dioxide, generating reduced coenzymes for the electron transport chain. It is also called the citric acid or tricarboxylic acid cycle.

The cytoplasmic pathway that breaks one glucose molecule into two pyruvate molecules, producing net two ATP and two NADH. Under anaerobic conditions pyruvate is reduced to lactate to regenerate NAD plus.

A selective interface formed by tight junctions of brain capillary endothelial cells, astrocytes and pericytes. It restricts entry of many polar drugs while admitting lipid-soluble molecules, which shapes central nervous system drug design.

A measure of spread equal to the square root of the average squared deviation of observations from their mean. A small value indicates tightly clustered data; it is expressed in the same units as the observations.

A result unlikely to have arisen by chance alone if the null hypothesis were true, judged against a preselected probability threshold such as 0.05. It says nothing by itself about the size or practical importance of an effect.

A method of solving problems by setting two equivalent ratios equal and cross-multiplying, widely used for dose calculation and dilution. For example, if 5 mL contains 250 mg, then 12 mL contains how many milligrams.

A way of expressing concentration as parts per hundred, where weight-in-volume percent means grams per 100 millilitres. It is common in prescriptions and requires careful conversion when diluting concentrated solutions.

A sentence construction in which the grammatical subject performs the action of the verb, as in the pharmacist checked the prescription. It is usually clearer and more direct than passive writing in professional reports.

The ability to read a passage and extract its stated facts, implied meaning, tone and logical structure. Examination items typically ask for the main idea, a specific detail, inference or the meaning of a word in context.

Key combinations that trigger commands without menus, such as Ctrl+C to copy, Ctrl+V to paste and Ctrl+Z to undo. Familiarity with these is commonly tested in computer awareness sections of recruitment examinations.