Introduction to Basics of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Dr. Gerard Marshall Raj. D holds an M.B.B.S. and M.D. in Pharmacology. Currently, he is working as an Assistant Professor at the Dept. of Pharmacology, Sri Venkateshwaraa Medical College Hospital & Research Centre, Puducherry, India. He has published two book chapters, one on ‘Intellectual Property Rights in Drug Development and Biotechnology’ in the book ‘Intellectual Property Issues in Biotechnology’ (CABI; ISBN: 9781780646534) and the other on ‘Intellectual Property Issues Surrounding Antimicrobial Agents’ in the book ‘Intellectual Property Issues in Microbiology’ (Springer-Nature; ISBN: 9789811374654). He was awarded the ‘Prof. M. N. Ghosh Gold Medal’ for outstanding performance during the M.D. Pharmacology course at JIPMER, Puducherry and has published many research articles, reviews, commentaries, case reports and letters-to-the-editor in peer-reviewed and indexed journals.  Dr. Ramasamy Raveendran, Dean (Research) -cum- Professor (Senior Scale) and Head of Pharmacology, JIPMER, Puducherry, graduated from the University of Madras and obtained his M.D. degree in Pharmacology from JIPMER, Puducherry and his Diploma in Clinical Pharmacology from St Bartholomew’s Medical College, London, UK. With over 34 years of research and teaching experience, his main interests include Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) and toxicology. He has authored 55 research papers, 7 CAL software packages and 1 book. He has also conducted more than 50 workshops on research methodologies, biomedical communication and biostatistics throughout India. He was chief editor of the Indian Journal of Pharmacology from 2001 to 2006 and is currently editor-in-chief of the Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics (since 2010). Further, as the Dean (Research) of JIPMER, he is coordinating all research activities at the premier institute. 

Part 1. Historical Aspects of Drug Discovery.- Chapter 1. The Great Pharmacologists and Their Revolutionary Discoveries. Chapter 2. Indian Contributions to Pharmacology.- Part 2. General Pharmacological Principles.- Chapter 3. Sources and Nature of Drugs. Chapter 4. Principles and Modes of Drug Administration.- Chapter 5. Drug Absorption and Bioavailability.- Chapter 6. Drug Distribution.- Chapter 7. Drug Metabolism.- Chapter 8. Drug Elimination.- Chapter 9. Mechanisms of Drug Action.- Chapter 10. Drug Transporters.- Chapter 11. Adverse Effects and Pharmacovigilance.- Chapter 12. Drug Interactions.- Chapter 13. Structure-Activity Relationships.- Part 3. Special Topics in Pharmacology.- Chapter 14. Drug Information.- Chapter 15. Pharmacogenetics, Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine.- Chapter 16. Chronopharmacology.- Chapter 17. Pharmacoepidemiology.- Chapter 18. Ethnopharmacology.- Chapter 19. Pharmacoeconomics.- Chapter 20. Orphan Diseases and Drugs.- Chapter 21. Fixed-DoseCombinations. Chapter 22. Translational and Reverse Pharmacology.- Chapter 23. Gene Therapy.- Chapter 24. Stem Cell Therapy.- Chapter 25. Principles of Prescription Writing.- Part 4. Toxicology.- Chapter 26. Environmental Toxicology.- Chapter 27. Basic Principles of Management of Drug Poisoning.- Part 5. Molecular Biology in Pharmacology.- Chapter 28. Regulation of Gene Expression.- Chapter 29. Proteomics.- Chapter 30. Techniques Involved in Studying Receptor Dynamics.- Chapter 31. Polymerase Chain Reaction.- Chapter 32. Southern, Western and Northern Blotting.- Chapter 33. Antisense Oligonucleotides.- Chapter 34. Recombinant DNA Technology.