Clinical Pharmacology Basic Principles Free Course

Clinical pharmacology basic principles course explains Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics. It also discusses the factors affecting drug response in patients.

Course Menu

• Routes of drug administration
• Pharmacokinetics 101: Drug absorption
• Pharmacokinetics 101: Drug distribution
• Pharmacokinetics 101: Drug elimination
• Drug targets: Receptors, ion channels, enzymes and carrier molecules
• Pharmacodynamics 101: Agonist dose response curves
• Pharmacodynamics 101: Types of antagonists
• Drug factors affecting patient response
• Patient factors affecting response to drugs

Definition you need to know for this course

• Pharmacology is the study of substances that interact with living systems through chemical processes
• Clinical pharmacology is the study of substances that interact with humans bodies through chemical processes
• Pharmacokinetics refers to what the body does to a drug (the journey of the drug inside the human body)

Pharmacokinetics

Four pharmacokinetic properties determine the onset, intensity, and duration of drug action, those include:

• Absorption: First, absorption from the site of administration into plasma of the blood.
• Distribution: Second, the drug may reversibly leave the bloodstream and distribute into the interstitial and intracellular fluids.
• Metabolism: Third, the drug is bio transformed through metabolism by the liver or other tissues into water soluble molecules to be easily excreted.
• Elimination: Finally, the drug and its metabolites are eliminated from the body in urine, bile, or feces.

Pharmacodynamics

• Pharmacodynamics describes what the drug does to the body. (the action of the drug)
• This involves interaction with receptors, ion channels , enzymes and carrier molecules to produce effects