ABSTRACT
The study of drugs is called pharmacology, and involves the chemistry of the agents themselves, their passage through the body, how they work in the body, how they are used and administered in clinical practice, and even how they can interact with genes and gene products. Metabolism is the chemical alteration, or biotransformation, of drugs prior to removal from the body. Pharmacodynamics is the study of the way drugs act in the body. Psychotropic drugs work by altering the brain chemistry mostly by acting on receptors or on ion channels. Pharmacotherapeutics is the study of how drugs are used in clinical practice, including prescription, dose calculation, means of administration, patient assessment for reactions and side effects, drug storage, and many other aspects. The therapeutic window is the dose range that exists from the lowest effective dose of a drug up to a dose where there are more harmful effects than beneficial effects.
