PHARMACOLOGY

 RATIONAL PHARMACOTHERAPEUTICS ::

Selection of drug on the basis of scientific explanation which is accepted world wide is known as Rational Therapeutics Here we can seek out the reasons of drug action from the beginning to end Use of adrenaline in bronchial asthma is an example in point 

Empirical Pharmacotherapeutics ::

In rare cases we still fail to elicit pharmacological reasons for some types of drug action yet that particular drug is used successfully to cure certain diseases This is true to folk medicines from unani Ayurved etc 

Chemotherapy ::

It is the use of chemical compounds in the treatment of infectious diseases so as to destroy the offending parasites or microbes without damaging the host tissues A chemotherapeutic drug should be ideally parasitotropic and not organotropic Chemotherapy is a spectacular success because many endangering infective diseases have been cured by chemotherapeutic drugs saving millions of ailing lives 

Immunopharmacology ::

It is the branch of pharmacology dealing with study of immunological aspects of drug action it also includes effects of drugs affecting immune system of the body 

Pharmacogenetics :: 

It is the branch of pharmacology dealing with variations of drug response due to genetic factors e.g. primaquine induced hemolysis in patients with glucose -6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency An advanced branch related to the use of genetic information to guide the choice of drug therapy on the individual basis in different patients is pharmacogenomics This branch describes individual variation of drug action based on genome of the body 

posology :;

it is the study of dosage and dose schedules 

Clinical Pharmacology ::

Drugs are ultimately meant to cure human sufferings The branch concerned with the scientific studies on the effects of drug treatment in human beings is defined as clinical pharmacology 

Toxicology ::

it is the science dealing with the adverse effects of drugs and study of poisons poisons are harmful substances which are dangerous or fatal to the living organism As such it is difficult to differentitate a drug and poison since any drug may be poisonous if not used properly or used in toxic doses Drugs used to counteract the poisonous effects are called antidotes Drugs used in such measures as to impart deleterious effects which may even prove fatal incorporate toxicology Toxic signs symptoms diagnosis and treatment are all included in the study of toxicology Such studies are done on experimental animals to study the toxicity of drugs 

Pharmacometrics ::

It is the branch of pharmacology dealing with identification (screening) and comparative evaluation (qualitative or quantitative ) of drugs 

Pharmacovigilance :: 

It is pharmacological science nothing to detection assessment understanding and prevention of adverse effects particularly long term and short term side effects of drugs