Orientation to

Pharmacy

Course Description
This course is one credit hour course given

during level 1, first semester.

It gives idea about pharmacy, pharmacy

careers, ethics, practice of community

pharmacy, and role of pharmacist in
industrial, hospital, governmental pharmacy.
It also provides idea about the role of

pharmacist as clinician, teacher and

researcher for development of the profession
in Egypt.

Definitions
Pharmacy:

Pharmacy is the science and technique of

preparing and dispensing drugs.
It is a health profession that links health
sciences with chemical sciences and aims
to ensure the safe and effective use of
pharmaceutical drugs.

Pharmacist:
Pharmacists, therefore, are
the experts on drug
therapy and are the
primary health
professionals who optimize
use of medication for the
.benefit of the patients

Clinical:
Dealing with patients.

Prescription:
Is an order for medication issued by a

physician, dentist or other licensed

medical practitioner.
It designates a specific dosage to be

prepared by a pharmacist and

administered to a particular patient

:Health care team

Health and social care workers
involved with the care of patient e.g.,
physician, pharmacist and nurse.

The golden triad:

physicia
n

pharmaci
st

patien
t

Nurse

:Clinical Pharmacy
Is defined as area of pharmacy where

pharmacists provide patient care that

optimizes medication therapy and promotes
health and disease prevention.
This new breed of pharmacists is patient

rather

than drug product oriented. Clinical

pharmacist must have knowledge about

disease and therapeutic use of drugs.

:Pharmaceutical Sciences
Are a group of interdisciplinary areas of

study involved with the design, action,

delivery, disposition, and use of drugs.
There are 4 basic pharmaceutical sciences:

1- Pharmacognosy
2- Pharmaceutical chemistry
3- Pharmacology
4- Pharmaceutics

Pharmacognos
:y
This applied biologic science is concerned

with the study of drugs of natural origin:

their source, isolation and purification as
well as the search for new drugs from
natural substances.
Historically, the first drugs were all natural

in origin but today many medicinal

substances are still obtained entirely or in
part from natural products or via natural
processes such as fermentation.

 The student will become familiar with

many

drugs of natural origin such as:

Digitalis
Anise
Belladona
Cinchona
Rauwolfia

Pharmaceutical
:chemistry
Many important drugs are chemical

compound produced synthetically either

entirely or in part.
One of objective of this science is to

examine the chemical structure of

pharmacologically active substances and
explain their synthesis from simpler

The pharmacist must be familiar with the

relationship of chemical structure to

pharmacologic activity.
By this way, the pharmacist can predict

therapeutic uses and/or potential side

effects in unfamiliar drugs by examining
their chemical structures.
Pharmaceutical analysis is an area of

chemistry that deals with the problems

of assuring the purity and composition of
drug products.

:Pharmacology
The worth of a substance as a drug is

measured by its therapeutic activity or

effect on the body.
This science is helpful in determining

possible biologic activity in newly

discovered compounds and in measuring
the effect of dosage form on drug action.
The practicing pharmacist finds it useful

to classify drugs according to their

pharmacologic or therapeutic activity and

Pharmacology is also concerned with the

interactions among two or more drugs i.e.

potentiation, antagonism.
Toxicology is a branch of pharmacology, it

is the study of symptoms and treatment of

ingested poisons.
The course gives idea about hazards of

contamination of our food , water and air.

Due to the major role of pharmacists who

are playing in poison centers, toxicology

course is of increasing importance.

Pharmaceutics
:
This area is the most recent to develop

as a

distinct scientific field.

It is defined as that branch of

pharmaceutical sciences which is

concerned with optimizing the
therapeutic effects of drugs and related
substances.
To obtain therapeutic effect requires a

system which delivers drug molecule in

proper amount to the site of action.

Optimization of this process means that a

minimum amount of drug should be used

to provide and maintain a maximum
therapeutic effect over a desired time
course, with minimal side effect and
maximum patient compliance.
Study of pharmacokinetic factors that

affect the pharmacological action of drug

such as absorption.
A large number of factors may affect the

process of drug absorption and whether

the drug is a solid or liquid, its solubility in
GIT, its rate of breakdown and excretion.

DRUG

Definition
Natural or synthetic substance which (when

taken into a living body) affects its

functioning or structure and is used in the
diagnosis, treatment , or prevention of
disease or other abnormal condition , for
the relief of pain or suffering , or to control
or improve any physiologic or pathologic
condition.
They may be either single chemical

substances or mixtures of principles.

:General characteristics of drug

1) It is used to treat a disease.
2) It is pure and has a defined chemical

structure.
3) It has well Known physical, chemical

and biologic properties.

4) It can be available from known sources.
5) Any slight change in its chemical

structure can cause great changes in

the body physiology.

Nature and sources of drugs:

Drugs may be obtained from one of the
following sources:

Plant sources:
Various parts of plants may be used as
sources of drugs, e.g. castor oil (laxative).
Animal sources:

Insulin is prepared from the pancreas of

different animals, e.g. cattle or pig, while
Heparin is obtained from the liver or lung
tissue.

 Mineral sources:

Some naturally occurring minerals may be

used as drugs, e.g. magnesium sulfate &
iodine.

Microorganisms:
Fungi and bacteria isolated from soil are
important sources of antibiotics, e.g. penicillin.

Synthetic drugs:
Many drugs are nowadays being produced in
the laboratory of drug factory, e.g. aspirin,
acetaminophen and sulfonamides.

 Biotechnology (recombinant DNA):

It has been
recently
introduced which
enabled us to
prepare many
drugs having
complex chemical
structure, e.g.