Basic Concepts of Pharmacology

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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. 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.

The way that drugs interact with the body can be divided into two strict catergories:

• Pharmacodynamics - the action that drugs have upon the body

• Pharmacokinetics - the actions that the body has upon drugs

Often combinations of drugs can enhance their power over a certain disease process but often a combination can cause deleterious effects on the body. Adverse drug reactions are a common aspect of the veterinary profession. It can be a challenge to recognise the signs of an adverse reaction as they can affect several organ systems simultaneously and can occur over varying periods of time.

Drugs may influence the measured concentration of biochemical analytes through their biological actions. Occasionally drugs will interfere directly with the analytical chemistry. It is essential that details of any drug therapy are included in the history on the submission form. Advice on the influence of drugs and the interpretation of results may be obtained from the laboratory. References: NationWide Laboratories

Literature Search

Use these links to find recent scientific publications via CAB Abstracts (log in required unless accessing from a subscribing organisation).


Review of how drugs work. Fajt, V. R.; The North American Veterinary Conference, Gainesville, USA, Large animal proceedings of the North American Veterinary Conference, Orlando, Florida, USA, 17-21 January, 2009, 2009, pp 311-314, 4 ref. - Full Text Article

Review of how drugs move through the body. Fajt, V. R.; The North American Veterinary Conference, Gainesville, USA, Large animal proceedings of the North American Veterinary Conference, Orlando, Florida, USA, 17-21 January, 2009, 2009, pp 307-310, 2 ref. - Full Text Article

How to evaluate drug information. Fajt, V. R.; The North American Veterinary Conference, Gainesville, USA, Large animal proceedings of the North American Veterinary Conference, Orlando, Florida, USA, 17-21 January, 2009, 2009, pp 315-317, 1 ref. - Full Text Article