INTRODUCTION TO PHARMACOLOGY
As its name indicates "pharmakon" means "drug" and "logy" means to study.Hence we can simply say that "pharmacology is the study of drugs".
However this definition does not occupy all aspects of a standard definition.a standard definition is one which encircles all aspects of the term under consideration.
so properly speaking we define pharmacology as below.
so properly speaking we define pharmacology as below.
Definition
the study of a manner in which the function of living organism can be modified by chemical sunstances.
or
Field Of Study
pharmacology has an extended field of study. some key topics of pharmacy which are gathered under the heading of its field of study are.
- History of drugs
- chemical and physical properties of drugs
- sources of drugs
- dispensing and compounding of drugs
- biochemical and physiological effects of drugs
- mechanism of action of drugs (pharmakodynamics)
- absorption,distribution,metabolism and elimination of drugs(pharmakokinetics)
Main Classes Of Pharmacology
pharmacology can be classified into two main divisions
- general pharmacology
- systemic pharmacology
1. general pharmacology
in general pharmacology we study all the basic principles that governs the action of drugs.similarly we study the pharmakokinetics and pharmakodynamics of drugs.
moreover history of drugs, dispensing and compounding of drugs therapeutic effects of drugs, chemical and physical properties of drugs etc are the topics that gathers under the heading of general pharmacology.
2. systemic pharmacology
in systemic pharmacology we study the effects of drugs on various body systems.systemic pharmacology is a well organized scheme of study that throws light on the physiological and biological effects individual drugs on individual systems.each body system is a separate chapter of its own.the basic subdivisions of systemic pharmacology are as under.
- cardiovascular drugs
- gastrointestinal drugs
- respiratory pharmacology
- renal pharmacology
- endocrine pharmacology
- CNS pharmacology
- genito urinary pharmacology
clinical pharmacology (pharmacotherapeutics)
the term clinical is related to clinic or bed side or pertained to or founded as actual observation in the treatment of patients as distinguished from theoretical basic pharma sciences.
pharmacotherapeutics deals with the action of drugs in diseased condition.it involves the treatment of sick and diseased person.
it deals with the relative effects of drugs in human systems in specific applications.it is in short the study of therapeutic uses and effects of drugs.
