4 credits
Fall 2025 Lecture
This is the first of two pharmacology courses in the DVM curriculum. The first part of this course encompasses an introduction to basic concepts necessary to understand and optimally administer and deliver therapeutic drugs, such as pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, dose forms, dosing regimen and prescriptions. In the second part of the course, drugs are studied not only based on their pharmacological class, but also based on the organs and systems on which they act (e.g., heart and vascular system, lungs, autonomous neuronal pathways, respiratory system, endocrine system, etc.). This course also covers the pharmacology of cancer therapy and drugs used to fight pathogens (antifungals, antibiotics, antivirals, antiparasitics). Journal club sessions are included to directly relate pharmacology instruction to topics currently debated in the field.
Learning Outcomes1Convey the mechanisms of action and adverse effects of classes of drugs and specific drugs used in veterinary medicine, taking into account anatomical, physiological, biochemical and molecular aspects.
2Be able to make informed decisions regarding administration (dosage, duration of treatment, combination with other drugs) of a class of drugs or a specific drug as appropriate, depending on the patient's vital and pathological characteristics and mechanisms of action of specific drugs or drug classes.
3Explain monitoring procedures for possible side effects based on classes/groups of drugs and specific drugs as appropriate.
4Discuss how drugs used for a particular disease might have an impact on the development of another disease.
5Discuss the principles and issues behind drug tolerance and addiction and the risk of abuse.
6Explain the methods of drug delivery developed to reduce drug toxicity and/or improve efficacy.
Corequisites
Prerequisites
Restrictions
GPA by professor
No grades available
No grades available
No grades available
No grades available
No grades available
No grades available
No grades available
No grades available
No grades available
No grades available
No grades available
No grades available
No grades available
made by Purdue students.