Drug Action 2 Exam 1 Practice

The main idea is how inherited genetic variation affects how a person responds to drugs. Pharmacogenomics looks at this link between genes and drug action to tailor therapy. The best answer frames this as combining pharmacogenetics with genomics, capturing both the specific gene–drug interactions and the broader genome-wide factors that influence efficacy and safety. For example, differences in the CYP2D6 gene can make people poor or rapid metabolizers of certain medications, leading to higher or lower drug levels and different responses. That kind of gene-driven variation is at the heart of pharmacogenetics and genomics, illustrating how genetics informs pharmacology. The other pairings miss this genetic basis: physiology and genetics aren’t focused on how drugs interact with the body; pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics describe drug disposition and effect without emphasizing genetic variation; clinical pharmacology and toxicology are broader disciplines, not specifically about integrating genetic information with drug response.