PHAR 300 Lecture 1: Introduction
8 Dec 2017
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What is a drug: any chemical that has an effect on a living system, many drugs are derived from a natural compound. Ex: histamine is present in many cells in the body. Drugs based on the structure of histamine include h1 blockers and cimetidine and act on the same biological site as histamine. One part of the blocker has a similar structure as the agonist (histamine), which allows blocker to bind to receptor and block the access of histamine. Similar organic structures will act on the similar biochemical pathways. Drugs may be thought of by their structure, function or where they act: drug: any chemical that alters the function of a cell or organ system (biological system). Ex: consider a neuron carrying an action potential down an axon releasing a neurotransmitter at the end. Any chemical acting on a stage of this process would be considered a drug.
