The nurse is teaching a patient the importance of taking the medication as prescribed. Patient ...

Correct Answer: 2,3,4,5
Rationale 1: Medications taken by mouth must cross the membranes of the GI tracts to get to the blood stream in order to be distributed throughout the body. This is not the case for medications administered by injection.
Rationale 2: Drugs taken orally are often exposed to physiological processes such as stomach acid and digestive enzymes.
Rationale 3: Enzymes in the liver may chemically change some drugs.
Rationale 4: Drugs will continue to act on the body until they are either metabolized to an inactive form or are excreted. Pathologic states such as kidney disease can increase the drug's action on the body.
Rationale 5: Many destructive processes, such as when stomach acid breaks down food, can break down the drug molecule before it can reach the target cells. This will facilitate the drug's movement throughout the body.