Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Pharmacology

Pharmacology is the study of how a drug affects a biological system and how the body responds to the drug. The discipline encompasses the sources, chemical properties, biological effects and therapeutic uses of drugs. These effects can be therapeutic or toxic, depending on many factors. Pharmacologists are often interested in therapeutics, which focuses on the effects of drugs and other chemical agents that minimize disease, or toxicology, which involves the study of adverse, or toxic, effects of drugs and other chemical agents. Toxicology can refer to both drugs used in the treatment of disease and with chemicals that may be present in household, environmental, or industrial hazards.