TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Chapter 1. Introduction A1 - Panus, Peter C. A1 - Jobst, Erin E. A1 - Masters, Susan B. A1 - Katzung, Bertram A1 - Tinsley, Suzanne L. A1 - Trevor, Anthony J. PY - 2009 T2 - Pharmacology for the Physical Therapist AB - Pharmacology may be defined as the study of substances that interact with living systems through chemical processes, especially by binding to regulatory molecules and activating or inhibiting normal body processes. In this book, these substances will be referred to as drugs. Drugs are administered to achieve a beneficial therapeutic effect on some process within the patient or for their toxic effects on regulatory processes in organisms infecting the patient. Such deliberate therapeutic applications may be considered the proper role of pharmacotherapeutics, which is often defined as medical pharmacology (i.e., drugs used to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases). Pharmacotherapeutics may be further subdivided into pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. Pharmacodynamics evaluates the effect of the substance on biologic processes, and will be discussed in Chapter 2. Pharmacokinetics examines the absorption, distribution, and elimination of substances, and will be discussed in Chapter 3. Toxicology is the branch of pharmacology that deals with the undesirable effects of chemicals on living systems, from individual cells to complex ecosystems. SN - PB - The McGraw-Hill Companies CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/19 UR - accessphysiotherapy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6090001 ER -