General Pharmacology

BASIC PRINCIPLES AND DEFINITIONS

Definitions

• Pharmacology: The total knowledge of drugs including history, chemistry, source, biochemical & physical effects, pharmacokinetics (what the body does to the drug), pharmacodynamics (what the drug does to the body), therapeutics, site of action, interactions, distinctive features, etc.

• Drug: A drug is any substance which, when introduced into the body, produces a physiological change, a biological change, a decrease in population of resident or invading microorganisms, or a decrease in abnormal tissue development.

• Clinical pharmacology: The study of the effect of drugs in man (as compared to animal or comparative pharmacology).

• Pharmacotherapeutics (or Therapeutics): deals with use of drugs in prevention & treatment of disease, usually to alleviate symptoms or, sometimes, to alter the course of the disease.

• Toxicology: deals with adverse effects of drugs

• Tolerance: Decreased response to a dose of a drug after chronic administration as seen with opioids or alcohol etc

• Idiosyncrasy: Describes an unusual effect of a drug. It usually occurs in a very small percentage of patients and may not be related to the dose of the drug.

• Side effect: usually describes any action of the drug other than the desired (therapeutic) effect.

• UNTOWARD EFFECT (or ADVERSE EFFECT) is any noxious, unintended, and undesired effect that occurs at normal drug doses.

• TOXIC effect is that effect (usually expected) produced by large doses of the drug.

Category: Pharmacology Notes