Pharmacology

Learn pharmacology by mechanism, so every drug class makes sense and side effects stop feeling random. Know how a medicine works and you can predict what it will do, what it might cause, and what can go wrong when it meets another pill.

This book follows two questions through ten chapters: what the body does to a drug, and what the drug does to the body. Summary tables line up classes side by side. Each chapter closes with questions that ask you to apply the material, and example responses at the back let you check your reasoning.

The ten chapters cover:

- Drug names, sources, labels, and controlled substance schedules

- Pharmacokinetics: absorption, bioavailability, the first-pass effect, cytochrome P450 enzymes, half-life, and why a drug with a 24-hour half-life needs four to five days to reach steady state

- Receptors, agonists, antagonists, and dose-response curves

- The autonomic nervous system, with beta blockers, alpha blockers, and cholinergic agents

- Cardiovascular care: ACE inhibitors, ARBs, diuretics, statins, anticoagulants, and the reason ACE inhibitors cause a dry cough

- SSRIs, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, ADHD stimulants, and treatments for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's

- Opioids, NSAIDs, anesthetics, corticosteroids, insulin, metformin, GLP-1 agonists, SGLT2 inhibitors, and asthma inhalers

- Thyroid drugs, hormonal contraceptives, acid suppressants, antiemetics, and laxatives

- Antibiotics, antiretroviral therapy for HIV, antifungals, chemotherapy, and immune checkpoint inhibitors, plus how penicillin attacks a bacterial cell wall that human cells do not have

- Adverse reactions, antidotes, grapefruit interactions, pharmacogenomics, tolerance and dependence, and the path from drug discovery through clinical trial phases to FDA approval

Real cases run through every chapter. You will see why aspirin protects platelets for their full 7- to 10-day life, why nitroglycerin goes under the tongue instead of being swallowed, and why warfarin started out as rat poison before doctors prescribed it to prevent clots. You will also learn why one Benadryl tablet brings allergy relief, drowsiness, and dry mouth at once, and why the FDA warned against codeine for children under certain conditions.

Written for:

- Nursing, pharmacy, and medical students

- Physician assistant and allied health students

- Caregivers who manage a parent's weekly pill organizer

- Anyone who has read a prescription insert and wanted to understand it

You need nothing beyond basic high school biology. Read the first four chapters in order for the core vocabulary, then jump to any body system you need. The back matter adds a historical timeline of discovery, a glossary of terms, works cited, and recommended readings.

Thousands of approved medicines exist, and most of them fall into a few dozen classes. Learn the classes and the logic behind them, and a drug name you have never seen before will already tell you most of what you need to know.