Chapter: Basic & Clinical Pharmacology : Introduction
Drug-Body Interactions
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PHARMACOLOGY
DRUG-BODY INTERACTIONS
The
interactions between a drug and the body are conveniently divided into two
classes. The actions of the drug on the body are termed pharmacodynamic processes (Figure 1–1);. These properties determine
the group in which the drug is classi-fied, and they play the major role in
deciding whether that group is appropriate therapy for a particular symptom or
disease. The actions of the body on the drug are called pharmacokinetic processes. Pharmacokinetic processes govern the absorption,
distribution, and elimination of drugs and are of great practical importance in
the choice and administration of a particular drug for a particular patient,
eg, a patient with impaired renal function. The following paragraphs provide a
brief introduction to pharmacodynamics and pharma-cokinetics.
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