Medicines and Drugs: What's the Difference?
Learning Objective
I can analyze the differences between medicines and drugs.
Key Concepts
After being swallowed, medicine travels through the bloodstream to do its job before being neutralized by organs and molecules.
Ibuprofen disintegrates in the stomach, travels to the small intestine, then to the liver, where enzymes attempt to neutralize it.
Factors such as genetics, age, diet, and disease can influence how efficiently the body processes medicine.
Practice Questions
This lesson includes 12 practice questions to reinforce learning.
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1. Describe the initial steps a painkiller like ibuprofen takes after being swallowed, before it enters the bloodstream.
2. What role do liver enzymes play in the processing of medicines like ibuprofen?
3. Explain why the dosage instructions on medicine labels are considered averages and why individual responses can vary.
...and 9 more questions
Educational Video
How does your body process medicine? - Céline Valéry
TED-Ed