This document defines key terms related to pharmacology including: - Pharmacy deals with the preparation of drugs for administration. Pharmacology is the study of drugs, their mechanisms and effects. Pharmacokinetics studies what the body does to drugs and pharmacodynamics studies what drugs do to the body. Other terms defined include bioavailability, pharmacogenetics, xenobiotics, orphan drugs, branded vs generic drugs, patents, and half-life.

1. Prepared by
Ms. Nisha S. Mhaske
M.Pharm (Q.A.T)
Lecturer, PRES’s COPD, Chincholi.
Email : nisha.mhaske@pravara.in

2. Pharmacy
 It is the branch that deals
with preparation of drugs &
drug combinations in a
suitable dosage form,
suitable and convenient for
administration.
 A disease is a particular
abnormal condition that
negatively affects the
structure or function of part
or all of an organism, and
that is not due to any
external injury.

3.  Pharmacology
 The word pharmacology is derived from two Greek words,
 ‘Pharmacon’- a Drug, &
 ‘Logus’- to treat or science.
 Definition- “Pharmacology deals with study of sources of
drugs, mechanism of action, toxicity, absorption,
distribution and metabolism of drugs.”
 Drug is derived from French word ‘Drogue’ meaning Dry
Herb.
 Drug is defined as any substance used for diagnosis,
prevention & treatment of disease.
 Toxicology- “it is the science which deals with the adverse
effects of the drugs and study of poisons.”

4.  Pharmacokinetics - it is the study of absorption,
distribution, metabolism & excretion of drugs and their
relationship to pharmacological response.
 i.e. What the body does to the drug.

5.  Pharmacodynamics- the quantitative study of the
biological & therapeutic effects of drugs & their
mechanism of action is called pharmacodynamics.
 i.e. What the drug does to the body.

7. o Pharmacotherapeutics- it deals with the application of
drugs in the prevention and treatment of diseases.
o It means various methods and systems that are used in
prevention and treatment of diseases.
o Clinical pharmacology
 It is the scientific study of drugs in man.
 It includes pharmacodynamic & pharmacokinetic
investigations in healthy volunteers & in patients.
 Analysis of cost-benefit & risk-benefit ratio, determination
of ideal doses & drug utilization patterns are also the
part of clinical pharmacology.
Or

8.  Pharmacogenetic /
Idiosyncrasy
 It deals with the variation
of drug response due to
genetic factors.
 Variation in drug response
may be affected by genetic
variation.
 It is called idiosyncratic
reaction to drugs or inborn
error of drug metabolism.
 The genetic make up of an
individual is responsible
for the variation in the
drugs effect as well as
toxicity of drugs.

9.  Bioavailability- the fraction / amount of drug that
reaches the systemic circulation in an unchanged form
& is available at the site of drug action is called as
bioavailability.

10.  Prototype drugs
 All the drugs used in medicine can be arranged in
about 70 major groups & each group contains several
drugs.
 In each group of drugs, one member which exhibits
the major actions of all the drugs of a group is called
the prototype drug of the group.
o Gene therapy- this refers to modifying, correcting or
replacing an inherited or acquired deficient gene that
is responsible for the diseases.
 Xenobiotics- chemicals foreign to the body, which can
produce physiological or pharmacological effects, are
called xenobiotics.
 These may be components of food, drugs, poisons &
additives.

11. o Orphan drugs
 These are the drugs for rare
diseases that affect only a small
number of people.
 These drugs are not easily
available commercially as due to
their limited sales, their cost of
development and manufacturing is
not profitable.
 The government usually provides
some help in the development of
such drugs.
 Eg. Acetyl-1-cysteine used for
paracetamol poisoning.
 4-methyl-pyrazole used for
methanol poisoning.

12. BRANDED VS GENERIC DRUG

16. PATENT
 The term patent
usually refers to a
right granted to the
inventor for a
limited term over a
new & useful
inventions.
 Invention may
either for a
Product&
Process.

17. HALF LIFE- TIME AT WHICH DRUG HAS LOST
HALF ITS MAXIMUM CONCENTRATION.