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Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, [1] including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function. [ 2 ]
It is derived from the Greek source term φάρμακον (phármakon), a word that can mean either remedy, poison, or scapegoat. [ a ] [ 1 ] In his essay " Plato's Pharmacy ", [ 2 ] Derrida explores the notion that writing is a pharmakon in a composite sense of these meanings as "a means of producing something".
The word pharmacy is derived from Old French farmacie "substance, such as a food or in the form of a medicine which has a laxative effect" from Medieval Latin pharmacia from Greek pharmakeia (Ancient Greek: φαρμακεία) "a medicine", which itself derives from pharmakon (φάρμακον), meaning "drug, poison, spell" [44] [45] [a ...
Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon (φάρμακον) meaning drug, and logos (λόγος) meaning science) is the study of how chemical substances interact with living systems. If substances have medicinal properties, they are considered pharmaceuticals .
The word "pharmacognosy" is derived from two Greek words: φάρμακον, pharmakon , and γνῶσις gnosis or the Latin verb cognosco (con, 'with', and gnōscō, 'know'; itself a cognate of the Greek verb γι(γ)νώσκω, gi(g)nósko, meaning 'I know, perceive'), [3] meaning 'to conceptualize' or 'to recognize'.
Al-Biruni (973–1050) wrote one of the most valuable Islamic works on pharmacology entitled Kitab al-Saydalah (The Book of Drugs), where he gave detailed knowledge of the properties of drugs and outlined the role of pharmacy and the functions and duties of the pharmacist.
In pharmacology, a drug is a chemical substance, typically of known structure, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. [2] A pharmaceutical drug, also called a medication or medicine, is a chemical substance used to treat, cure, prevent, or diagnose a disease or to promote well-being. [3]
One of the key classifications is between traditional small molecule drugs; usually derived from chemical synthesis and biological medical products; which include recombinant proteins, vaccines, blood products used therapeutically (such as IVIG), gene therapy, and cell therapy (for instance, stem cell therapies). [citation needed]