Basic Concepts of Pharmacology

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.

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.

• Drug Interactions
• Adverse Drug Reactions