Pharmacology and Toxicology

Pharmacodynamics

Pharmacodynamics is the study of how drugs interact with the body. The most common method is the drug's interaction with tissue receptors located in cell membranes or intracellular fluid. The degree of receptor activation and the subsequent biological reaction are influenced by the activating drug's concentration. This relationship is explained by the dose-response curve, which plots the drug dose vs its outcome. This essential pharmacodynamics interaction may be influenced by patient characteristics and the availability of additional drugs that compete with it for binding at the same receptor.