ABSTRACT
As described earlier (Chapter 1), evaluation of the effects of drugs on physiologic function provides a critical tool for understanding biological mechanisms. As Claude Bernard pointed out more than a century ago, the drug ‘becomes an instrument that dissects and analyzes the most delicate phenomena of the living machine.’ His studies led to understanding the unique properties of the neuromuscular junction and its inhibition by the poison curare. Commonly, these investigations lead to important new therapeutics, such as the development of tubocurarine, used as a skeletal muscle relaxant in surgery. In this chapter we will consider the properties of the peripheral nervous system, especially the autonomic component, with respect to the target sites of drugs. Using the cardiovascular system as an example, we will examine how drugs can interact with several different targets to reduce elevated blood pressure or hypertension.
