General Pharmacological Principles

Foundational concepts in pharmacology including definitions, nomenclature, compendia, and routes of drug administration.

Pharmacology

The science of drugs; it deals with the interaction of exogenously administered chemical molecules with living systems, or any single chemical substance which can produce a biological response.

Rudolf Buchheim

He ushered pharmacology as an experimental science and founded the first institute of pharmacology in 1847 in Germany.

Oswald Schmiedeberg

He is regarded as the 'father of pharmacology'.

Pharmacodynamics

What the drug does to the body. This includes physiological and biochemical effects of drugs and their mechanism of action at organ system, subcellular, or macromolecular levels.

Pharmacokinetics

What the body does to the drug. This refers to the movement of the drug in and alteration of the drug by the body, including absorption, distribution, binding, biotransformation, and excretion.

Drug (WHO 1966 definition)

Any substance or product that is used or is intended to be used to modify or explore physiological systems or pathological states for the benefit of the recipient.

Pharmacotherapeutics

The application of pharmacological information together with knowledge of the disease for its prevention, mitigation, or cure.

Clinical pharmacology

The scientific study of drugs (both old and new) in man, including investigations in healthy volunteers and patients to evaluate efficacy and safety.

Chemotherapy

The treatment of systemic infection or malignancy with specific drugs that have selective toxicity for the infecting organism or malignant cell with no or minimal effects on the host cells.

Pharmacy

The art and science of compounding and dispensing drugs or preparing suitable dosage forms for administration of drugs to man or animals.

Pharmaceutics

The technological science of large scale manufacture of drugs.

Toxicology

The study of poisonous effect of drugs and other chemicals with emphasis on detection, prevention, and treatment of poisonings.

Chemical name

A name describing the chemical substance, such as 1-(Isopropylamino)-3-(1-naphthyloxy) propan-2-ol for propranolol.

Non-proprietary name

The name accepted by a competent scientific body/authority, such as USAN (United States Adopted Name) or rINN (Recommended International Nonproprietary Name).

Proprietary (Brand) name

The name assigned by the manufacturer that is their property or trade mark.

Pharmacopoeias

Official compendia containing descriptions of chemical structure, molecular weight, physical/chemical characteristics, purity standards, and dosage forms of officially approved drugs.

Formularies

Booklets listing indications, dose, dosage forms, contraindications, and adverse effects of selected drugs available for medicinal use in a country.

Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference

An exhaustive non-official compendium published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain containing pharmaceutical/pharmacological information on drugs used worldwide.

Essential Medicines

Medicines that satisfy the priority healthcare needs of the population, selected based on public health relevance, evidence on efficacy and safety, and comparative cost effectiveness.

Schedule H

The category for prescription drugs in India according to the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules (1945).

Orphan Drugs

Drugs or biological products for diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of a rare disease or condition for which development costs are unlikely to be recovered from sales.

Transdermal therapeutic systems (TTS)

Adhesive patches that deliver a drug at a constant rate into systemic circulation via the stratum corneum.

Parenteral

Administration by injection which takes the drug directly into the tissue fluid or blood without crossing the enteral mucosa.

Dermojet

A needleless method of subcutaneous administration using a high velocity jet of drug solution projected from a microfine orifice.

Intravenous (i.v.)

Route of administration where the drug is injected as a bolus or infused into superficial veins, providing $100\%$ bioavailability and immediate effect.