Subject curriculum

Undergraduate Curriculam:

The broad goal of teaching of the undergraduate students in Pharmacology is to inculcate a rational & scientific basis of therapeutics.

    • Goal
    • Objective

    At the end of the course, student shall be able to

    Practical knowledge of use of drugs in clinical practice will be acquired through integrated teaching with clinical departments.

      • Knowledge:
      1. Describe the Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of essential and commonly used drugs;
      2. List the indications, contraindications, interactions and adverse reactions of commonly used drugs;
      3. Indicate the use of appropriate drug in a particular disease with consideration to its cost, efficacy and safety for
        1. Individual needs
        2. Mass therapy under national health programmes
      4. Describe the pharmacokinetic basis, clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of common poisoning;
      5. List the drugs of addiction and recommend the management;
      6. Classify environmental and occupational pollutants and state the mangement issues
      7. Indicate causations in prescription of drug in special medical situation such as pregnancy, lactation, infancy and old age;
      8. Integrate the concept of rational drug therapy in clinical pharmacology;
      9. State the principles underlying concept of ‘Essential drugs’
      10. Evaluate the ethics and modalities involved in the development and introduction of new drugs
      • Skills:
      1. Prescribe drugs for common ailments;
      2. Recognize adverse drug reaction and interactions of commonly used drugs;
      3. Observe experiments designed for study of effects of drugs, bioassay and interpretation of the experimental data;
      4. Scan information on common pharmaceutical preparations and critically evaluate drug formulations.
      • Integration:
          • Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapeutics and Toxicology
          • General Pharmacology
            1. Introduction, history, dosage forms, methods of drug administration, mechanism of drug action, Pharmacogenetics.
            2. Absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs; clinical Pharmacokinetics, therapeutic drug monitoring, adverse drug reactions and drug interactions.
            3. Principles and methods of bioassay, development of new drugs, basic principles of clinical pharmacology.
            • Drugs acting on peripheral nervous system
            1. Neurohumoral transmission- autonomic and somatic
            2. Cholinergic agonists, anticholinesterase agents, organophosphorus poisoning and its treatment.
            3. Antimuscarinic agents.
            4. Sympathomimetic drugs (adrenergic agents)
            5. Adrenergic receptor and neurone blocking agents.
            6. Ganglionic stimulants and ganglion blocking agents.
            7. Neuromuscular blocking agents and direct skeletal muscle relaxants.
            8. Local anaesthetics- Types of local anesthesia.
            • Drugs acting on Central Nervous System
            1. General anesthetics and preanesthetic medication.
            2. Alcohol and de-addiction, Methanol poisoning
            3. Sedatives, hypnotics, central muscle relaxants and Analeptics
            4. Antiepilelptic drugs and antiparkinsonian drugs.
            5. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, drugs for rheumatism and gout.
            6. Opioid analgesics and antagonists, dependence and its treatment
            7. Antianxiety, antidepressants & antipsychotic agents and psychedelics
            • Drugs acting on cardiovascular system
            1. Drugs for treatment of congestive heart failure
            2. Drugs for treatment of cardiac arrhythmia
            3. Antihypertensive drugs
            4. Antianginal drugs and therapy of myocardial infarction
            5. Pharmacotherapy of shock
            6. Pharmacotherapy of hyperlipoproteinemia
            • Drugs acting on Gastrointestinal system
            1. Pharmacotherapy of acid peptic disease
            2. Emetics, antiemetics and prokinetic drugs
            3. Purgatives and antidiarrheal agents; Pharmacotherapy of diarrhea
            • Drugs acting on blood and blood forming organs
            1. Haematinics and Pharmacotherapy of Anemias
            2. Antiplatelet, Anticoagulant and Thrombolytic agents
            3. Haemostatics
            • Drugs acting on respiratory system
            1. Pharmacotherapy of Bronchial asthma
            2. Antitussives, Expectorants and treatment of cough.
            • Drugs acting on Endocrine system-
            1. Hypothalamic and Pituitary hormones
            2. Thyroid hormones and antithyroid drugs
            3. Parathormone , calcitonin, vitamin ‘D’ and calcium metabolism.
            4. Insulin, oral hypoglycemics, Therapy of Diabetes mellitus; & glucagon
            5. Adrenocorticotrophic hormones and their analogues
            6. Estrogens, progestins, contraceptives & ovulation inducing agents.
            7. Androgens and anabolic steroids
            8. Drugs acting on Uterus
            • Chemotherapy
            1. General principles of chemotherapy, mechanism of action of antimicrobials, drug resistance and rational for their combined use.
            2. Sulfonamides, cotrimoxazole and quinolones
            3. Antibiotics- Penicillins, Cephalosporins other beta lactams , Aminoglycosides, Tetracyclines, Macrolides and miscellaneous.
            4. Chemotherapy of- Tuberculosis, leprosy, urinary tract infection, sexually transmitted diseases, mycotic and viral diseases.
            5. Protozoal infections –Malaria, amoebiasis, giardiasis, trichomoniasis; Parasitic infestations,
            6. Anticancer drugs and General principles of chemotherapy of malignancy.
            7. Antiseptics and disinfectants
            8. Use of drugs during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, geriatric age group and renal and hepatic insufficiency
            9. Miscellaneous- Autacoids, general aspects of toxicology, antidotes, chelating agents, Immunosuppressants, Immunostimulants, vaccines& sera; vitamins, diagnostic agents.
          • Experimental Pharmacology
            • Practical demonstrations
            1. Introduction to experimental pharmacology, Experimental animals, animal anesthesia, types of experiments, Instruments & equipments, preparation of solutions,
            2. Effects of drugs on Rabbit’s eye.
            3. Receptor specificity- isolated guinea pig ileum.
            4. Effects of Cholinergic & anticholinergic - Dog/cat blood pressure
            5. Effects of Adrenergic & adrenoceptor blockers on blood pressure
            6. Effects of drugs on Skeletal muscle – Frog rectus abdominis muscle.
            7. Effects of drugs on neuromuscular transmission- Rat phrenic nerve diaphragm preparation
            8. Effects of drugs on Heart- Isolated frog heart perfusion
            9. Effects of drugs on Heart- Isolated rabbit heart
            10. Bioassay of Histamine-- isolated guinea pig ileum
            11. General anesthetics- stages and preanesthetic medication
            12. Methods of screening Analgesic activity
            13. Methods of evaluating antiepileptic drugs
            14. Statistical exercise- Biological variation
          • Clinical Pharmacology & Pharmacy
            • Dose calculations for Intravenous administration and Pediatric oral administration
            • Mixtures
            1. Alkaline Mixture
            2. Alba mixture (Purgative mixture)
            3. Liquid Paraffin Emulsion
            • Powders
            1. Powder for Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) and therapy of dehydration
            • Lotions
            1. Zinc Calamine Lotion
            • Ointments
            1. Whitfield Ointment
              1. Liniments
                1. Turpentine liniment
              2. Paint
                1. Compound io dine throat paint (Mandls Throat Paint)
          • Prescription Writing:
          1. 1.Concept of Rational Drug Therapy
          2. 2.Selection of Drugs and Prescribing for Common Ailments
          3. 3.Prescription Criticism.
          4. 4.Critical Evaluation of Pharmaceutical Formulations &
          5. 5.Scan the Pharmaceutical and Scientific literature
      • Syllabys:

      A course of lectures and demonstration consists of theoretical teaching in pharmacology, Pharmacotherapeutics and applied toxicology. This includes didactic lectures, tutorials, seminars and symposia. Special emphasis is given to clinical and applied pharmacology throughout the course.