General Principles of Pharmacology

At the end of the course, students should be able to: 1. discuss sources of drugs; 2. describe the various routes of drug administration and how they influence onset of drug action; 3. state the factors that affect drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion; 4. explain the role of receptors as targets for drug action; 5. discuss the fundamental differences between agonists and antagonists; and 6. define the common system parameters in pharmacokinetics and their measurements.

Introduction: History of Pharmacology and relationship of Pharmacology to other Pharmaceutical and clinical subjects. Definition and sources of drugs. Routes of drug administration. Drug absorption, distribution, elimination and factors affecting them. Enzyme induction and enzyme inhibition. Mechanisms of drug action – receptor and non-receptor theory. Drug dosage and dose response curves. Measurement of some pharmacokinetic parameters.