Pharmacology - the study of substances that interact with living systems through chemical

processes, especially by binding to regulatory molecules and activating/inhibiting normal

body processes.

 study of the actions of drugs, incorporating knowledge from other interrelated

sciences, such as pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

Pharmacokinetics - movement of drug into, through, and out of the body

Pharmacodynamics - study of the biochemical, physiologic, and molecular effects/actions

of drugs on the body

Drug - any substance that brings change in biologic function through its chemical actions.

The drug molecule interacts as an:

 agonist (activator) – turns on

 antaggonist (inhibitor) – turns off

with a specific molecule in the biologic system that plays a regulatory role.

This target molecule is called a receptor.

Drug interact with receptors through chemical forces or bonds.

 covalent
 electrostatic
 hydrophobic

Drug affinity - the tendency of two substances to form strong or weak chemical bonds
forming molecules or complexes.

Drug efficacy – how effective is the drug or what's the ability of the drug to produce the
desired effect