Pharmacology is the scientific study of the actions and interactions of
drugs within a living organism. When external drugs, whether
pharmaceutical or otherwise, enter the body of a person or animal they
become the study of a pharmacologist. Pharmacology science encompasses
the study of drugs that alter the functions of a given person or
organism. These drugs can be medicinal or not. As an official science
the study dates back to the 1840s and is not to be confused with
pharmacy, which links health sciences with chemical sciences.
The
job of the pharmacologist is to study the properties of a given drug.
They must determine the make-up of the drug, how it came to be composed,
and the interactions the drug has within the body of living organisms.
The pharmacology student attempts to discover how it will react with the
human body, how it will react with other substances, and what outcomes
these reactions will have. They must determine the toxicology of the
drug, as well as its possible uses in therapy and medicine; namely, how
it will affect the biological functioning of the body.
The
different branches of the study of pharmacology include clinical
pharmacology, the study of medicines; toxicology, the study of the
harmful effects of drugs; posology, the study of what drugs can and
should be taken in what doses; and neuropharmacology, the study of
effects on the nervous system. These, among many other fields, help to
inform the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. Drugs are
then stamped with guidelines and approval if they are fit for using.
It
is thought that the study of pharmacology first began with Avicenna,
the 11th century Persian physician and philosopher. His Canon of
Medicine, published in the early 1000s, features the first mention of
pharmacological practices, and was soon followed by descriptions in John
of St. Amand’s Commentary on the Antedotary of Nicholas. With the
development and surge of medicinal and recreational drugs in the 19th
century, pharmacology took a leap forward when the first educational
department was established by Rudolf Buccheim at the University of
Dorpat in modern day Estonia in 1847. In these days, morphine and
quinine were among the most studied pharmaceuticals.