- Pharmaceutical sciences
The pharmaceutical sciences are a group of
interdisciplinary areas of study involved with the design, action, delivery, disposition, and use ofdrug s. This field draws on many areas of the basic andapplied sciences , such aschemistry (organic, inorganic, physical,biochemistry and analytical),biology (anatomy andphysiology ,biochemistry ,cell biology , andmolecular biology ),mathematics ,physics , andchemical engineering , and applies their principles to the study of drugs.The pharmaceutical sciences are further subdivided into several specific specialties, with three main branches:
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Pharmacology : the study of the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs onorganism s.
**Pharmacodynamics : the study of the cellular and molecular interactions of drugs with their receptors.
**Pharmacokinetics : the study of the factors that control the concentration of drug at various sites in the body.
**Pharmaceutical toxicology: the study of the harmful or toxic effects of drugs.
**Pharmacogenomics : the study of the inheritance of characteristic patterns of interaction between drugs and organisms.
*Medicinal chemistry : the study ofdrug design to optimize pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and synthesis of new drug molecules.
*Pharmaceutics : the study and design ofdrug formulation for optimum delivery,stability , pharmacokinetics, and patient acceptance.As new discoveries advance and extend the pharmaceutical sciences, subspecialties continue to be added to this list. Importantly, as
knowledge advances, boundaries between these specialty areas of pharmaceutical sciences are beginning to blur. Many fundamental concepts are common to all pharmaceutical sciences. These shared fundamental concepts further the understanding of their applicability to all aspects ofpharmaceutical research anddrug therapy .ee also
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Medical sciences (ormedicine )
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