534-201 Pharmacology

Note

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

25 points of 100-level chemistry; biology 600-141 and 600-142 (Before 1996: 600-101 Biology). Exemption may be considered in special cases.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

The lecture course covers the basic principles of drug action and focuses on receptor sites that mediate drug action and the physiological and biochemical mechanisms associated with the response to a drug. The interaction of drugs with hormones and common therapeutic agents will be used to illustrate these principles. It investigates the ways in which drugs are handled by the body in terms of their absorption, distribution and metabolism. The course examines the development of new drugs from natural sources or new chemical syntheses and how these drugs are evaluated and regulated. Aspects of drugs of abuse and addiction and the potential strategies for dealing with this problem will be examined. The principles of selective toxicity and the toxicology of environmental contaminants will be introduced. Aspects of venoms and toxins will be examined. The practical course will reinforce the lecture material and illustrate the basic concepts of the pharmacological concentration response relationship, competitive antagonism and pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic modelling.

Assessment

A 3-hour end-of-semester written examination; continuous assessment throughout the practical component of the subject. An oral examination may also be held for students who do not pass the written examination.