P03

Pharmacology & Toxicology

Drug classes and prototypes, mechanisms, adverse effects, antidotes and poisoning management

68
questions
in this subject
0
cite a source
Act, Rule or reference
27
subtopics
covered

Section weightage differs by recruiting body (RRB, ESIC, DSSSB, state boards), so none is invented here. Question counts are read from the live bank when this page is built.

Subtopics in this bank

Adverse drug reactionsAdverse drug reactions, drug interactions, new drug development and pharmacovigilanceAnticoagulant monitoringBioassay: principles, types and bioassay of official substancesBody fluids, blood and the lymphatic system: haemopoiesis, coagulation, blood grouping and blood disordersCardiovascular anatomy and physiology: conduction system, cardiac cycle and output, blood pressure regulation and ECGCell injury and adaptation, inflammation and repairCellular, tissue and musculoskeletal organisation of the body: cell transport, cell signalling, tissues, skin, bone, muscle contraction and jointsCentral nervous system pharmacology: anaesthetics, sedative-hypnotics, antiepileptics, psychopharmacological agents and opioid analgesicsChemotherapy of infectious diseases and malignancy: general principles, antibiotics, antimycobacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antiparasitic agentsDigestive system: GI anatomy, gastric acid secretion, digestion-absorption and energeticsDiuretics and antidiureticsDrug classes and contraindicationsDrug nomenclatureEndocrine and reproductive pharmacology: pituitary, thyroid, calcium-regulating hormones, insulin, corticosteroids, sex hormones and oral contraceptivesEndocrine system: hormone classification, mechanism of hormone action, endocrine glands and their disordersGeneral pharmacology: scope, sources of drugs, routes of administration and drug-response terminologyHepatic and joint disorders, principles of cancer, and infectious/sexually transmitted diseasesImmunopharmacology, principles of toxicology and chronopharmacologyNeurophysiology and the central nervous system: action potential, synapse, neurotransmitters, brain and spinal cordPathophysiology of cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, haematological, endocrine, neurological and gastrointestinal disordersPeripheral nervous system and special sensesPeripheral nervous system pharmacology: autonomic drugs, neuromuscular blockers and local anaestheticsPharmacokinetics: membrane transport, ADME, enzyme induction/inhibition and kinetics of eliminationPoisoning and antidotesReproductive physiology and introduction to geneticsRespiratory and gastrointestinal pharmacology

Sample questions, with the reasoning

Every served question is explained like this — including why each wrong option is wrong.

A drug is eliminated almost entirely by hepatic metabolism. In a patient the hepatic blood flow is 1.5 L/min and the drug's hepatic extraction ratio (E) is 0.60. Assuming perfusion-limited (flow-dependent) elimination, the hepatic clearance of the drug is closest to:

  • A)0.40 L/min
  • B)0.90 L/min✓
  • C)1.50 L/min
  • D)2.50 L/min

Why B is correct

Organ clearance = blood flow × extraction ratio = 1.5 L/min × 0.60 = 0.90 L/min. For high-extraction drugs, hepatic clearance approaches (but cannot exceed) hepatic blood flow.

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A drug is eliminated solely by hepatic metabolism and has a hepatic extraction ratio (E_H) of 0.75. Assuming complete absorption from the gut and no loss during the intestinal (gut-wall) first pass, what is the maximum possible oral bioavailability (F) of this drug?

  • A)0.25✓
  • B)0.75
  • C)0.50
  • D)1.00

Why A is correct

For a drug cleared only by the liver and fully absorbed, the maximum oral bioavailability equals the fraction escaping hepatic first-pass metabolism: F_max = 1 − E_H = 1 − 0.75 = 0.25.

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A healthy adult has a blood pressure of 120/90 mmHg and a heart rate of 75 beats/min. Using the standard approximation MAP = diastolic pressure + ⅓ × (pulse pressure), the mean arterial pressure is approximately:

  • A)100 mmHg✓
  • B)105 mmHg
  • C)110 mmHg
  • D)95 mmHg

Why A is correct

Pulse pressure = 120 − 90 = 30 mmHg. MAP = 90 + (⅓ × 30) = 90 + 10 = 100 mmHg. The one-third weighting reflects the greater time the cardiac cycle spends in diastole.

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