Pharm Chapter 19 Glossary

Front 1

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Back 1

Neurotransmitter responsible for transmission of nerve impulses to effector cells in the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS).

Front 2

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE)

Back 2

Enzyme responsible for the breakdown of ACh (also referred to simply as cholinesterase).

Front 3

Alzheimer’s disease

Back 3

A disease that is characterized by progressive mental deterioration manifested by loss of memory, ability to calculate, and visual-spatial orientation, as well as by confusion and disorientation.

Front 4

Cholinergic drugs

Back 4

Drugs that stimulate the PSNS by mimicking ACh.

Front 5

Direct-acting cholinergic agonists

Back 5

Cholinergic drugs that bind directly to cholinergic receptors to activate them.

Front 6

Indirect-acting cholinergic agonists

Back 6

Cholinergic drugs that work indirectly by making more ACh available at the receptor site.

Front 7

Irreversible cholinesterase inhibitors

Back 7

Drugs that form a permanent covalent bond with cholinesterase.

Front 8

Miosis

Back 8

Contraction of the pupil.

Front 9

Muscarinic receptors

Back 9

Effector-organ cholinergic receptors located postsynaptically in the smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and glands supplied by parasympathetic fibers; so named because they can be stimulated by the alkaloid muscarine.

Front 10

Nicotinic receptors

Back 10

Cholinergic receptors located in the ganglia (where presynaptic and postsynaptic nerve fibers meet) of both the PSNS and the sympathetic nervous system; so named because they can be stimulated by the alkaloid nicotine.

Front 11

Parasympathomimetics

Back 11

Another name for cholinergic drugs that mimic the effects of ACh.

Front 12

Reversible cholinesterase inhibitors

Back 12

Drugs that bind to cholinesterase for minutes to hours but do not form a permanent bond.