This course introduces the underlying principles of pharmacology and provides a perspective of the historical, regulatory (FDA) and industrial aspects of pharmacological science. This includes overviews of the physiological, biochemical, and anatomical foundations for the interaction of drugs and chemicals with biological systems. This course is intended to orient new graduate students to the general scope of pharmacologic science.
Pharmacology provides the scientific basis and principles for a variety of special applications, such as the study of drug actions in the health sciences, the use of drugs as therapeutic agents in medicine or as tools in scientific research, and the development and regulation of pharmaceuticals. Pharmacology is a multi-disciplinary science with many subspecialties including clinical pharmacology, cardiovascular pharmacology, behavioural pharmacology, neuropsychopharmacology, pharmacogenetics, and pharmacoeconomics
