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| BOOK REVIEW |
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| Year : 2012 | Volume
: 44
| Issue : 6 | Page : 807 |
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Pharmacology: An Illustrated Review
Vinayak Bhavsar
Department of Pharmacology, Chirayu Medical College and Hospital, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
| Date of Web Publication | 8-Nov-2012 |
Correspondence Address:
Vinayak Bhavsar
Department of Pharmacology, Chirayu Medical College and Hospital, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
How to cite this article:
Bhavsar V. Pharmacology: An Illustrated Review. Indian J Pharmacol 2012;44:807 |
Mark A. Simmons
Publishers: Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Ltd, Noida, India,
International Edition Second Impression 2012, ISBN 978-93-80378-98-5, pp. 414.
Author has made the objectives very clear in the preface itself. The book aims at mastering the basic concepts of pharmacology. This is probably to help the students in the classroom, as well as in the international competitive examinations. Author also hopes that a good core knowledge would be helpful for clinical practice in future. The presentations in the book are concise and to the point. "Diagrammatic illustrations" are a key feature of the book. In every chapter, the author has included the diagrams to emphasize the basic concepts. A careful study of these illustrations should help the student to understand key issues in the topic and remember them for a long time.
Another feature of the book is information put in the "side bar." Background information related to the physiological, biochemical, genetic, and embryological aspects should help understand the applications of the principles of pharmacology. Side bars also describe some diseases and their treatment. Summary in the table form is also a useful feature, and student would get the overview of the topic. For self-testing at the end of each major topic, a set of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) along with discussion-answers are presented. The book covers almost all areas briefly and to the point; coverage of pharmacokinetics, receptor mechanisms of drug action, autonomic nervous system, cardiovascular system, antimicrobials, anticancer drugs, and central nervous system are worth appreciating.
Some of the areas could have received a greater attention, for example, the principles of pharmacodynamics (and drug action), clinical trials, and new drug development, adverse drug reaction (ADR) monitoring, principles and practice of prescription writing, and therapeutic aspects of pharmacology. Similarly, some of the statements need to be corrected, for example, major site of absorption of drug is mentioned as "duodenum," but it should be ileum; it is mentioned that the absorption is complete by intravenous route, and as a matter of fact, there is no issue of absorption when one is giving drugs intravenously; side effects of prazosin, terazosin, and doxazosin are said to include benign prostatic hypertrophy. In contrary, these drugs have some beneficial effect in this condition.
Overall, it seems to be an excellent book for rapid revision, for viva voce examination, and to attempt the questions requiring short answers.
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