Written primarily for students of medicine, pharmacy, and pharmacology, this introductory book provides a concise summary of the principles that underlie the science of pharmacology. It presents the basic concepts required for understanding the use, mechanisms of action, toxicity and side effects, and therapeutic application of drugs in man. Thus the book may also be of interest to medical practitioners and to biological and medical scientists. Among topics covered are the sources of drugs, the way they are administered and dealt with in the body, as well as concepts about the nature of their...

The opportunity to prepare a second edition of a book that was originally written 30 years ago has provided me with both a challenge and a source of pleas- over ure; the former as it needed to be spatially constrained within its original limits. Nevertheless, over 1000 references have been added. I must apologize to the many biologists whose contributions could not be included. I have attempted to keep the original format and historical perspective. The information has been princi- pally described within the context of each phyletic group of the vertebrates and their habitats. Each chapter is...

A 1981 treatment of the action and uses of the hormones and drugs that influence endocrine functions in the body as seen by a pharmacologist. The book includes a description of available drug preparations and expected therapeutic responses, and an examination of their side effects and interactions with other drugs. Special emphasis is placed on how such drugs and hormones work and on how their biological effects are related to their chemical structures. The physiological background to the practical significance of such substances is given for both a healthy and a diseased state. The book...