Introduction

Pharmacology is a discipline, which deals with the interactions of chemical compounds and living systems. It is mainly concerned with the action of those chemical agents which are used in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disease states. Pharmacology has, historically, provided the basis for most medical treatment, and remains the preferred mode of intervention in disease. It also has provided powerful tools for probing the function of biological systems. Pharmacology has always been a fundamentally interdisciplinary field, positioned at the intersection of physiology, biochemistry, organic chemistry, behavioral neuroscience, and medicine. Typically, important advances in the pharmacological sciences have followed from research that bridges these fields. Toxicology, on the other hand, is the science of poisons and how they cause damage to living systems. The discipline covers the adverse effects of drugs and other chemicals, as well as ways to detect and treat such adverse effects.

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