Branches of Pharmacology

• Neuropharmacology is the study of neurophysiological or neurobiochemical functions of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, and the nerves that are modified by drug action.
• Cardiovascular pharmacology concerns the effects of drugs on the heart, the vascular system, and those parts of the nervous and endocrine systems that participate in regulating cardiovascular function.
• Molecular pharmacology deals with the biochemical and biophysical characteristics of interactions between drug molecules and those of the cell. It is molecular biology applied to pharmacology and toxicology .
• Biochemical pharmacology is the study of action of drugs and drug metabolism, how drugs interact with, and influences, the physiology of the organism.
• Behavioral pharmacology studies the effects of drugs on behavior of organism. It includes topics such as the effects of psychoactive drugs on the phenomena of learning, memory, wakefulness, sleep and the behavioral consequences of experimental intervention in enzyme activity and brain neurotransmitter levels and metabolism.
• Endocrine pharmacology is the study of drugs that are either hormones or hormone derivatives, or drugs that may modify the sections of normally secreted hormones.
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  Clinical pharmacology is the application of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics to patients with diseases, it also includes pharmacogenetic component. Clinical pharmacologists study how drugs work, how they interact with the genome and with other drugs, how their effects can alter the disease process, and how disease can alter their effects. Clinical trial design, the prevention of medication errors, and the optimization of rational prescribing are critical components of clinical pharmacology.
• Chemotherapy is the area of pharmacology that deals with drugs used for the treatment of microbial infections and malignancies. Chemotherapeutic agents selectively inhibit the growth of, or kill, the infectious agent or cancer cell without seriously impairing the normal functions of the host.
• Toxicology is the science of adverse effects of chemicals/ drugs on living systems. It also includes problems of drug safety, effects of drug over dosage.
• Pharmacy is a separate discipline in the health sciences. It is the profession responsible for the preparation, dispensing and appropriate use of medication, and provides serv ices to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes.