001 Introduction To Pharmacology

Introduction to Pharmacology
Hany A. Omar, Ph.D

Assistant Professor of Pharmacology,
College of Pharmacy, UOS
Office: M23-140
Office hours: 10-11 (Sunday & Tuesday)
e-mail: [email protected]
HAPPY
NEW
ACADEMIC
YEAR
The way to succeed:
 Renew your intention of success everyday
 Like what you are doing
 Sleep well
 Always ask (there is no stupid question)
 Do not postpone the work from today to tomorrow
Class Regulations
1. Respecting the class
- Arriving on time - this means at least a few minutes before class time.
- Turning off all cell phones before class.
- No side conversations during class.
2. Attendance
3. Laptops and eating are not allowed
OBJECTIVES of the Course
By the end of the course student should know:
• the basic principles underpinning how drugs work
• how drugs enter the body, reach their targets of action,
eliminated from the body
• therapeutic & adverse effects of drugs can differ markedly
between patients-> individualisation of dosage
• factors which determine the efficacy, pharmacokinetics and
adverse effects of drugs -their inter-relationships to your
patients
• Basic and clinical pharmacology of drugs which you as
practitioners
– Can prescribe
– Patients under your care are taking and their dental implications.
OBJECTIVES of the Course
• interpret the literature (textbook, internet, original sources) -

mechanisms of actions, therapeutic efficacy, pharmacokinetics
and major adverse effects of drugs
• relate therapeutic & adverse effects of drugs in your patient
• analyse clinical problems related to drug-drug interactions
• detect and predict adverse reactions to drugs, how these might
be managed and reporting of these reactions to the appropriate
authorities
General introduction to pharma
Pharmacokinetics 1
Course Pharmacokinetics 2
Pharmacodynamics 1
Topics Pharmacodynamics 2
Drugs use in Children and Kidney disorders
Fall Semester Drugs acting on the Autonomic Nervous System 1
Drugs acting on the Autonomic Nervous System 2
General anesthetics 1
General anesthetics 2
Local anesthetics 1
Local anesthetics 2
Mid-term exam (week 8)
Antibiotics 1
Antibiotics 2
Anti-infective Agents 1
Anti-infective Agents 2
Drug Prophylaxis
Prescription writing
Final Exam
Resources of the Course
• Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, Bertram G. Katzung, 12th
edition, 2012. Publisher: McGraw Hill.
• Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews, Richard A. Harvey, 5th
edition, 2010. Publisher: Lippincott Williums & Wilkins.
• Seymour R, et al.: Pharmacology and Dental Therapeutics.
Oxford University Press, 2011
• Handouts
In this Lecture…
• General Introduction to Pharmacology
– Big picture
– Drug classification
– Drug names
– Sources of drugs
– Routes of drug administration
General Principles
PHARMACOLOGY: the science that deals with drugs (in

Latin, Pharmakon- means drug, -logy means science).
DRUG: Any chemical agent that affects the biological

systems. It may be used in the treatment, prevention
or diagnosis of diseases.
Subdivisions of Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics (How drugs act?)

• It describes what the drug does to the body including
biochemical and physiological effects, mechanism of
action and side effects. e.g. Paracetamol relieves pain
Pharmacokinetics
• It describes what the body does to the drug:
absorption, distribution, metabolism and clearance.
Subdivisions of Pharmacology
Clinical pharmacology
•It deals with the clinical application of pharmacological
principles.
Pharmacogenomics
•It deals with the influence of genetic variation on drug
response
Toxicology
•It is the study of the side and adverse effects of drugs as
well as harmful interactions
Therapeutics
•Optimal treatment for specific diseases or conditions using:
Drug, surgery, do nothing, lifestyle changes: preventive, public
health
General Properties of Drugs
• Vary in size
– Lithium for mania: Molecular Weight = 7
– Tissue Plasminogen Activator: 7000
– Generally, most drugs are 100-1000 in size: small
molecules
• Vary in 3 dimensional shape

– Interaction with specific sites in body
– Lock & key concept
Drugs Classification
Drugs can be classified according to their:
1. Therapeutic use (effect):

• Antipyretic (acetaminophen)
• Anti-emetic (metoclopromide)
• Antibiotic (penicillin)
2. Mode of action: e.g. Vasodilators
3. Target: e.g. Calcium Channel Blockers
4. Plant origin: e.g. Opiates derived from opium

Digoxin derived from digitalis
Drugs Nomenclature
There is a variety of names given to different drugs or even to
the same drug.
1. Chemical name: chemical structure of the compound (e.g.

N-Acetyl-P-aminophenol)
2. Generic name: shorter & often derived from the chemical

name e.g. Paracetamol BP (British Pharmacopoeia- a
reference book with purity & identification standards of
drugs)
3. Trade (brand) name: is assigned to the compound by the

pharmaceutical company (e.g. Panadol, Adol, Tylenol,…… )
Always try to use the GENERIC NAME

Where do drugs come from?
Plants
Human-derived proteins/steroids
Fungi/bacteria
Synthetic chemicals
Recombinant proteins
Pharmacokinetics
• To achieve therapy, adequate drug

doses must be delivered to the
target tissues.
• Pharmacological and toxicological
actions of drugs are primarily related
to the plasma concentrations of
drugs.
• Factors: disease, age, the use of
other drugs at the same time
Routes of Drug Administration
• Determined by:
1) Properties of the drug (for example,
water or lipid solubility, ionization,
etc.)
2) Therapeutic objectives (rapid onset
of action or the need for long-term
administration).
There are two major routes:

Enteral: Through the alimentary tract
Parenteral: Injection (NOT through the
alimentary tract)
Others
I- ENTERAL ROUTES
Drugs placed directly in the GIT
1-ORAL ROUTE:
Some drugs are absorbed from the stomach; however, the duodenum is a major
site of absorption because of its larger absorptive surface.
Advantages:
The oral route is the safest, easiest, most convenient and most economic route.
Disadvantages:
- Irritant drugs can cause nausea and vomiting .
- Protein drugs such as insulin are inactivated in the GIT.
- Insoluble drugs are not absorbed.
- Some drugs form complexes with some food constituents and so not absorbed.
- The action comes slowly and so it is not suitable for emergency cases.
- This route is not suitable when the patient is unconscious or uncooperative
(children).
- Some drugs are inactivated by first-pass metabolism 90% of nitroglycerin is
cleared through the liver so it is not administered orally.
What is first pass effect?
It is a term used for the hepatic metabolism of a

pharmacological agent when it is absorbed from the GI tract
and delivered to the liver via the portal circulation.
The greater the first-pass effect, the less the agent will reach
the systemic circulation when the agent is administered orally.
2- SUBLINGUAL ROUTE
The drug is placed under the tongue and allowed to

dissolve and diffuse into the capillary network
and so to enter the circulation directly.
Advantages:
– Rapid absorption and thus suitable in
emergency such as anginal attack
(Nitroglycerin).
– NO first pass effect
Disadvantages
– The drug should be soluble in saliva and
effective in a small dose.
3- RECTAL ROUTE
• The drug is used in the form of suppository or enema
• It may be used for local action (treatment of hemorrhoids) or
systemic action (antipyretics).
Advantages:
– Minimum first pass effect.
– No destruction of drugs by intestinal enzymes or by stomach
acidity.
Disadvantages:
– Poor or incomplete absorption
– Rectal irritation
II-PARENTERAL
Introduces drugs directly into the systemic circulation .
Advantages:
Parenteral administration is used for:
• Drugs that are poorly absorbed from the GIT (Heparin)
• Agents that are unstable in the GIT (Insulin)
• Unconscious patients
• When a rapid onset of action is required (emergency)
• No first-pass effect
• Most control over the dose of drug
Disadvantages:
• Irreversible
• May cause pain, fear, and infections.
• The major parenteral routes are Intravenous, Intramuscular and

Subcutaneous.
Intravenous (IV)
• The most common parenteral route, No absorption.
• For drugs that are not absorbed orally and avoids the GI tract and
first-pass metabolism .
• Rapid effect and a maximal dosage control and allow large volume
Intramuscular (IM)
• Drugs administered IM can be aqueous solutions or depot
preparation (long acting).
• Absorption from aqueous solution is fast while slow from depot
preparations.
Subcutaneous (SC)
• Like IM injection, requires absorption .
• Small amounts of adrenaline (vasoconstrictor ) are sometimes
combined with a drug to restrict its area of action and decreases
movement of a drug.
• Examples of drugs utilizing SC administration include:
– Insulin
– Contraceptive implants
III-OTHER
Inhalation
• Provides rapid delivery of a drug across the
large surface area of the respiratory tract
producing an effect almost as rapidly as with
IV injection.
• Used for drugs that are gases (e.g. anesthetics) or those that
can be dispersed in an aerosol.
• Effective in patients with respiratory problems (bronchial
asthma) because the drug is delivered directly to the site of
action and systemic side effects are minimized.
Intranasal
• This route involves administration of drugs directly into the nose.
• e.g. Nasal decongestants
The abused drug, cocain.
Intrathecal/intraventricular
• When it is necessary to inject drugs
into the cerebrospinal fluid.
• e.g. for the treatment of meningitis
and in spinal anaesthia.
Topical
• For local effects.
• For example, creams, eye drops, sunscreens,…etc.
Transdermal
• Achieves systemic effects by application of drugs to the skin,
usually via a transdermal patch.
• This route is most often used for the sustained delivery of
drugs, such as the anti-anginal drug nitroglycerin, the antiemetic
scopolamine
Thank you

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Introduction to Pharmacology

Hany A. Omar, Ph.D

• interpret the literature (textbook, internet, original sources) -

PHARMACOLOGY: the science that deals with drugs (in

DRUG: Any chemical agent that affects the biological

Pharmacodynamics (How drugs act?)

• Vary in 3 dimensional shape

Drugs can be classified according to their:

1. Therapeutic use (effect):

2. Mode of action: e.g. Vasodilators

3. Target: e.g. Calcium Channel Blockers

4. Plant origin: e.g. Opiates derived from opium

1. Chemical name: chemical structure of the compound (e.g.

2. Generic name: shorter & often derived from the chemical

3. Trade (brand) name: is assigned to the compound by the

Always try to use the GENERIC NAME

• To achieve therapy, adequate drug

There are two major routes:

It is a term used for the hepatic metabolism of a

The drug is placed under the tongue and allowed to

• The major parenteral routes are Intravenous, Intramuscular and

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