Pharmacology is a medical science that forms a backbone of the medical profession as drugs form the corner stone of therapy in human diseases. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to describe the pharmacological basis of therapeutics in order to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of drugs to recipients. This lecture note on pharmacology is primarily a note for undergraduate health science students such as health officer, nursing, midwifery and laboratory technology students. However, other health professionals whose career involves drug therapy or related aspects should also find much of the material relevant.

The goal is to empower the practitioner through an understanding of the fundamental scientific principles of pharmacology. The effects of prototypical drugs on physiological and pathophysiological processes are clearly explained to promote understanding. Other related drugs are touched briefly. The selection of the drugs is based on the national drugs list for Ethiopia and on the accumulated experience of teaching pharmacology to many health profession students.
The chapters open with a list of objectives to guide the reader, and most end with questions which challenge the reader’s understanding of the concepts covered with in the chapter. Most sections have an introduction that provides an overview of the material to be covered.
Readers are encouraged to refer the references mentioned for further information and we hope that this material will be a valuable companion in our pursuit of a fundamental understanding in a most fascinating area of clinical knowledge, pharmacology.

The Authors – April 2004

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