When students are asked which subject is the most challenging, pharmacology always appears near the top of the list. The study of pharmacology demands that students apply knowledge from a wide variety of natural and applied sciences. Successfully predicting drug action requires a thorough knowledge of anatomy, physiology, chemistry, and pathology. Lack of adequate pharmacology knowledge can result in immediate and direct harm to the patient; thus, the stakes in learning the subject are high.

Pharmacology cannot be made easy, but it can be made understandable when the proper connections are made to knowledge learned in these other disciplines. The vast majority of drugs in clinical practice are prescribed for specific diseases, yet many pharmacology textbooks fail to recognize the complex interrelationships between pharmacology and pathophysiology.

This book –Pharmacology is the product of teaching undergraduates the principles of pharmacology over the last many years. This book – Pharmacology has been organized to provide a logical continuum of information relating to drugs, beginning with the inevitable historical discovery of drugs in food. With this background, important pharmacological principles will be considered relating to drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination.  In essence, the emphasis is placed upon pharmacokinetic aspects of drug action. Having gained access to the body, how do drugs produce an effect and how can the effect be quantified for comparative purposes?