xiv INTRODUCTION
A Look Inside
Pharmacology can be challenging to learn unless you follow the step-by-step
approach that is used in Pharmacology Demystified.Topics are presented in a
systematic order—starting with basic components and then gradually moving on
to those features found on classy web sites.
Each chapter follows a time-tested formula that first explains the topic in an
easy-to-read style and then shows how it is used in a working web page that you
can copy and load yourself. You can then compare your web page with the image
of the web page shown in the chapter to be sure that you’ve coded the web page
correctly. There is little room for you to go wrong.CHAPTER 1: AN INSIDE LOOK AT PHARMACOLOGY
The mere mention of drugs brings all sorts of images to mind. However, these
impressions are based on our experience as patients. Healthcare providers have
a different view because they see drugs as an arsenal to combat disease. A drug
is more than a pill. It is a compound of chemical elements that interacts with the
body’s chemistry causing a chain reaction of events. Healthcare providers need
a thorough understanding of a drug’s action in order to effectively prescribe and
administer the drug to the patient. Therefore you begin in Chapter 1 learning the
basic concepts of pharmacology.CHAPTER 2: DRUG ACTION AND DRUG INTERACTIONS
Drugs are not magical. They follow proven scientific principles to interact with
cells in your body to bring about a pharmaceutical response—cure your ills. In
this chapter you’ll learn about the scientific principles that seem to miraculously
make you better when you feel rotten all over. You will learn how drugs stimu-
late your body’s own defense mechanism to stamp out pathogens that give you
the sniffles or cause serious diseases.CHAPTER 3: PHARMACOLOGY AND
THE NURSING PROCESSRemember from your last hospital stay being awakened from a deep sleep by
a nurse saying, “time to take your medicine.” The nurse didn’t enjoy disturbingINTRODUCTION