history of pharmacology

1. EDIT BY – IMRAN
AHMAD

2.  Pharmacology is the study of how a drug
affects a biological system and how the body
responds to the drug. The discipline
encompasses the sources, chemical
properties, biological effects and therapeutic
uses of drugs. These effects can be
therapeutic or toxic, depending on many
factors.

3.  1 Etymology
 2 History
 3 Divisions
◦ 3.1 Systems of the body
◦ 3.2 Clinical practice and drug discovery
 3.2.1 Drug discovery
◦ 3.3 Wider contexts
◦ 3.4 Emerging fields
 4 Theory of pharmacology
◦ 4.1 Systems, receptors and ligands
◦ 4.2 Pharmacology
◦ 4.3 Pharmacokinetics
 5 Administration, drug policy and safety
◦ 5.1 Drug policy
 6 Societies and education
◦ 6.1 Societies and administration
◦ 6.2 Education
 7 See also
 8 References
 9 External links
 10 Further reading

4.  The word pharmacology is derived from Greek
φάρμακον, pharmakon, "drug, poison" and -
λογία, -logia "study of", "knowledge of"[2][3] (cf.
the etymology of pharmacy). Pharmakon is
related to pharmakos, the ritualistic sacrifice or
exile of a human scapegoat or victim in Ancient
Greek religion.
 The modern term pharmacon is used more
broadly than the term drug because it includes
endogenous substances, and biologically active
substances which are not used as drugs.
Typically it includes pharmacological agonists
and antagonists, but also enzyme inhibitors
(such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors).

6.  The origins of clinical pharmacology date back to
the Middle Ages, with pharmacognosy and
Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine, Peter of
Spain's Commentary on Isaac, and John of St
Amand's Commentary on the Antedotary of
Nicholas.[8] Early pharmacology focused on
herbalism and natural substances, mainly plant
extracts. Medicines were compiled in books
called pharmacopoeias. Crude drugs have been
used since prehistory as a preparation of
substances from natural sources. However, the
active ingredient of crude drugs are not purified
and the substance is adulterated with other
substances.

7.  Traditional medicine varies between cultures
and may be specific to a particular culture,
such as in traditional Chinese, Mongolian,
Tibetan and Korean medicine. However much
of this has since been regarded as
pseudoscience. Pharmacological substances
known as entheogens may have spiritual and
religious use and historical context.
 In the 17th century, the English physician
Nicholas Culpeper translated and used
pharmacological texts. Culpeper detailed
plants and the conditions they could treat. In
the 18th century, much of clinical
pharmacology was established by the work of
William Withering.