Pharmacology

Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug mechanisms and a drug can be defined as man-made, natural or endogenous molecule synthesized by the body itself. Drugs will exert therapeutic effect upon a particular site of the body and corrects the abnormal functions within the body. However, these drugs will only perform their function within certain period of times until they lose their efficacy. This is called as the drug’s half-life. In the study of pharmacology, medical students must be made aware of the efficacy, usage, side effects, half-life and route of administration of a drug to a patient depending on the patient’s condition. Everything is taken into consideration when administering a drug to a patient such as the patient’s age, physical and mental condition to avoid any forms of contraindications.

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Vials Ampules

We were introduced to the subject initially by a presentation of general drug effects on the body such as nausea, headache, vomiting and rash in those who are allergic to a particular drug. Various drug dosage forms such as tablets, pills, vials, ampules and capsules were introduced to us. Each has their own concentration and specific half-lives. We also learned about drug metabolism and route of distribution as well as excretion within the body. Hence, drugs fitting for the body can be chosen for a specific patient. For example, if a patient happens to have liver failure, a drug that is metabolized by liver should not be administered to the patient. After the general introduction to drug mechanism, we went into the specifics of each class of drugs administered for different disorders and learned about their mechanisms of actions. I find it very easy to learn Pharmacology because it follows a specific format in which we must know the mechanism of action, half-life, therapeutic uses, and route of administration and side effects of each drug. When organized properly, Pharmacology is a very interesting topic to study because it forms the basis of treatment of a disease after a correct diagnosis.