Solid Knowledge Of The Biological Sciences example essay topic

306 words
Pharmacology is a broadly based discipline of biology dealing with the properties of chemical compounds and their interactions with living systems. In the broadest sense, pharmacology is the study of how chemical agents, both natural and synthetic (i. e., drugs) affect biological systems. This encompasses investigation of the derivation, chemical properties, physiological and behavioral effects, mechanisms of action, biological transformations, and the therapeutic and non-therapeutic uses of drugs. It provides the scientific basis and principles for a variety of special applications, such as the study of drug actions in the health sciences, the use of drugs as therapeutic agents in medicine or as tools in scientific research, the investigation and control of poisons and pollutants in natural and social environments, and other applications in the future. Pharmacology is NOT the same as Pharmacy, which is the profession engaged in the preparation and dispensing of drugs and the operation of drug stores. The goal of pharmacology is the design or identification of chemical agents to cure, ameliorate, or prevent disease; to understand and explain the mechanisms of their actions; and to contribute to the maintenance of health and productiveness of society.

Pharmacology is often described as a bridge science because it incorporates knowledge and skills from a number of basic science disciplines including physiology, biochemistry and cell and molecular biology. Pharmacologists are able to 'translate' such knowledge into the rational development of therapeutics. To be a pharmacologist requires a solid knowledge of the biological sciences, and also of mathematics, chemistry, and many aspects of medicine. The interdisciplinary nature of the field offers pharmacologists a variety in research opportunities not found in other fields of scientific inquiry.

It is this flexibility as well as the potential for the practical application of research that attracts people to become pharmacologists..