Subject Resources: Pharmacology

Listed below are Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) developed by the School of Nursing, Midwifery & Physiotherapy in the subject area of Pharmacology. Click on a title link to view the RLO. To keep up to date on released RLOs, keep checking our news section, or link to our RSS news feed (what's RSS?). Use of these RLOs is governed by our Terms of Use.

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Pharmacology RLOs
Title	Description	Detail
Action of drugs that target carriers	This learning resource introduces carriers as a target for drug action and describes how carriers function and how drugs utilise these carriers.
Action of drugs that target enzymes	To describe how enzymes function and how drug inhibitors block this action.
Action of drugs that target ion channels	This learning resource introduces ion channels as target for drug action.
An introduction to receptor pharmacology	To describe the different types of receptor which drugs target.
Bioavailability	Introduction to the concept of the bioavailability of drugs.
Clinical impact of changes in drug clearance	Examines some of the factors which affect total body clearance of a drug and how this, in turn, influences a drug's clinical impact.
Clinical importance and receptor location within the cell	This learning object illustrates the clinical importance of receptor location in relation to the speed of drug action in practice.
Crossword - Introduction to Receptor Pharmacology	This RLO uses a crossword to assess your knowledge about the different receptor types and how drugs interact with them.
Discovering and understanding under-served communities	This resource will help you to improve your awareness and understanding of individuals who are under-served and the health challenges they face. It will also help you reflect on how you can tailor your pharmacy's services to help these people.
Drug-receptor interaction	Introduction to the interaction of cell receptors with drugs. This resource was first released in June 2004. It has been re-purposed by the Helm team in 2016.
Exploring the synapse	Describe the events during the transmission of an impulse across a synapse
G-protein linked receptors	This learning object explains how G - proteins function in communication messages from membrane-bound receptors.
Half-life of drugs	To understand the half-life of drugs and its relationship with volume of distribution and clearance.
How ligand-gated ion channel receptors communicate messages	This learning object explains how ligand-gated channel receptors signal messages.
Importance of Drug Receptor Location	This the first Umbrella Learning Object (ULO) to be developed and contains the following Pharmacology RLO titles: Receptor location, Membrane Bound Receptors, Intracellular Receptors and Clinical importance and application.
Importance of intracellular receptor location to the speed of drug action	To explain how binding of a drug to an intracellular receptor influences cellular activity and how this relates to the timing of drug action.
Importance of membrane bound receptors to the speed of drug action	To determine the clinical importance of receptor location in determining the time of onset of drug effect.
Introduction to drug clearance	Provides a definition of clearance and a basic explanation of the processes
Kinase-linked receptors	This learning resource explains the mechanism and action of kinase-linked receptors. It has been designed to work easily with the Core tool, an application currently under development. The Core tool will enable tutors to collect, organise and aggregate various resources and package them as one learning object.
Lock and Key Hypothesis	Introducing the "lock and key" analogy of drug-receptor interaction, whereby only drugs of a certain molecular shape will 'fit' with a cell membrane receptor.
Patents	This resource examines the topic of patents, of particular relevance to medicine and pharmacology. A patent is a legal title that provides an inventor exclusive property rights to their invention for the length of the patent period.
Pharmacogenetics	Pharmacogenetics refers to the study of genetic influences on an individual's response to drugs. In pharmacogenetics, the analysis of a specific gene, or group of genes, may be used to predict responses to a specific drug or class of drugs.
Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic influences of aminoglycoside dosing	Examines how the absorbtion and distribution of aminoglycosides within the body affects the dosing regimens used.
Plasma Proteins and Drug Distribution	Examing the role of plasma proteins in the blood in the distribution and elimination of drugs in the body.
Receptor location and the speed of drug action	To explain how cellular receptor location influences the speed of drug action.
Targets for Drug Actions	This RLO explains the four major targets at which drugs act, namely receptors, ion channels, carriers and enzymes
The Kidneys and Drug Excretion	The role of the kidneys in the excretion of drugs.
The Liver and drug metabolism	The role of the liver in the metabolism of drugs.
Understanding First Pass Metabolism	Description of first pass metabolism of orally-administered drugs in the liver and gastrointestinal tract
Volume of distribution	Explains the pharmacological concept of Volume of Distribution, and how it is calculated.