I. INTRODUCTION. 1. SUBJECT AND AIMS OF PHARMACOLOGY. ITS POSITION AMONG OTHER MEDICAL DISCIPLINES. MAIN STAGES OF PHARMACOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

Pharmacology¹ is a science studing the interaction between chemical compounds and living organisms. Pharmacology basically studies drugs, used for the treatment and prevention of different diseases and pathological conditions. One of the most important aims of pharmacology is to create new effective and safe drugs.

The range of pharmacological research is very wide. It comprises the study of the effects of substances on biological systems of varying complexity - from the entire organism to particular cells, subcellular fractions, receptors and enzymes. Changes in biological system functions, caused by chemical compounds, are a manifestation of their biological action (activity)².

Being a medico-biologic science, pharmacology is connected with different fields of experimental and clinical medicine. Thus, pharmacology has a significant impact on the development of a great number of other medico-biologic disciplines, especially physiology and biochemistry. For instance, vegetotropic substances helped reveal the mechanisms of synaptic transmission, carried out by means of neurotransmitters. The substances, allowing us to block certain enzymes or accelerate their synthesis, contributed to the development of enzymology. Most of the complex functions of the central nervous system (CNS) became open for research due to the neurotropic drugs. For experimental medicine the main value of pharmacological substances is that they present a

¹ From Greek pharmacon - drug, logos - study (here and below terms are presented in Latin transcription).

² The term «biological action» of substances is often replaced with «physiologic action».

possibility to control a number of biochemical and physiological processes and analyze their underlying mechanisms.