Pharmacokinetics - What body does to the drug.
Pharmacotherapeutics - Use of drugs in prevention & treatment of disease.
Clinical pharmacology - Scientific study of drugs in man.
Toxicology - Aspect of pharmacology deals with adverse effects of drugs.
Pharmacodynamic agents - Designed to have pharmacodynamic effects in the
recipient.
Chemotherapeutic agents - Designed to inhibit or kill the parasites or malignant cells and do not have or with minimal pharmacodynamic effects on the recipient.
Orphan drugs - Drugs or Biological Products for diagnosis/treatment/
Prevention of a rare disease.
For example - Liothyronine (T3), Desmopressin, Baclofen, Digoxin Antibody.
1) Oral 2) Parenteral
Injections-
A) Intradermal: - given in to layers of skin. E.g.:- BCG vaccine, for testing drug
sensitivity.
B) S.C:- Only non-irritant drug are given absorption can be enhanced by enzyme
Hyalurinase S.C.drug implants can act as depot therapy. E.g.:- steroid hormones.
In children, saline is injected in large quantities – Hypodermalysis.
C) I.M:- Mild irritants, suspensions & colloids can be injected by this route.
D) I.V:- Directly to the vein.
E) Intraarterial: - Only used for diagnostic studies. E.g.:- Angiograms, embolism
therapy.
F) Intrathecal: - Spinal anaesthetics into subarachinoid space.
G) Intramedullary: - Drug introduced to the Bone marrow.
H) Intraarticular & Intra tensional: - Drug administered into joints. Example - Hydrocortisone acetate in rheumatoid arthritis.
Pharmacokinetics
Absorption-
A) Simple diffusion - Bidirectional process rate of transfer across the membrane is proportional to the concentration gradient. E.g.:- Water-soluble drugs with low molecular weight, lipid-soluble drugs.
B) Active transport - requires energy – independent of physical properties of the membrane. E.g.:- water-soluble drugs with high molecular weight.
Carrier-mediated transport: - E.g.:- Intestinal absorption of Ca2+.
C) Pinocytosis - Important in unicellular organisms like Amoeba.
Bioavailability - Amount of drug reaches systemic circulation following a non-vascular drug administration.
F = AUC Oral/ AUC IV
