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Basic Concepts of Pharmacology (view source)
Revision as of 09:45, 21 October 2008
, 09:45, 21 October 2008no edit summary
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Pharmacology can be defined as the effect of drugs on living systems. Drugs can mimic or inhibit the natural processes of the body; it is therefore crucial to understand how these processes work to truely understand the effect of a drug. Drugs mainly exert their effects on the body by binding to a target molecule. A few drugs used in veterinary medicine depend upon their physical properties; an example of this would be the use of liquid paraffin in a horse with an impacted colic.
Pharmacology can be defined as the effect of drugs on living systems. Drugs can mimic or inhibit the natural processes of the body; it is therefore crucial to understand how these processes work to truely understand the effect of a drug. As such the principles of pharmacology touch on all aspects of veterinary medicine and are essential to grasp to fully appreciate drug use in practice.
Drugs mainly exert their effects on the body by binding to a target molecule. A few drugs used in veterinary medicine depend upon their physical properties; an example of this would be the use of liquid paraffin in a horse with an impacted colic.
Often combinations of drugs can enhance their power over a certain disease process but often a combination can cause deleterious effects on the body. As a vet it is very important to understand how these negative effects occur so that they can be avoided as much as possible. These will be discussed in full on the [[Drug Interactions | drug interaction pages]].