Description:‘The very last thing a drug regulator wishes to be able to say is, like Lord Byron (1788-1824), on the publication of his poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, ‘I awoke one morning and found myself famous.’The twelfth edition of this long-established textbook of clinical pharmacology (first published in 1960) continues its fine tradition of balancing science and practice for improved evidence-based drug therapy and good prescribing in therapeutic settings increasingly complicated by intercurrent disease and polypharmacy.Key Features • Coverage of all major therapeutic topics by body system.• Introductory sections give brief chapter synopses.• Case studies where relevant.• Covers the needs of the developing world with a focus on practical prescribing and health technology assessment. • Definition, tips, brief explanation boxes throughout.• Interesting histories, etymologies and provenances of terms throughout.• Entertaining footnotes throughout.Contents:Section 1: General1 Clinical pharmacology2 Topics in drug therapy3 Discovery and development of drugs4 Evaluation of drugs in humans5 Health Technology Assessment6 Regulation of medicines7 Classification and naming of drugsSection 2: From Pharmacology to Toxicology8 General pharmacology9 Unwanted effects and adverse drug reactions10 Poisoning, overdose, antidotes11 Drug dependenceSection 3: Infection and Inflammation12 Chemotherapy of infections13 Antibacterial drugs14 Chemotherapy of bacterial infections15 Viral, fungal, protozoal and helminthic infections16 Drugs for inflammation and joint disease17 Drugs and the skinSection 4: Nervous System18 Pain and analgesics19 Anaesthesia and neuromuscular block20 Psychotropic drugs21 Neurological disorders - epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosisSection 5: Cardiorespiratory and Renal Systems22 Cholinergic and antimuscarinic (anticholinergic) mechanisms and drugs23 Adrenergic mechanisms and drugs24 Arterial hypertension, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction and heart failure25 Cardiac arrhythmia 26 Hyperlipidaemias27 Kidney and genitourinary tract28 Respiratory systemSection 6: Blood and Neoplastic Disease29 Drugs and haemostasis30 Cellular disorders and anaemias31 Neoplastic disease and immunosuppressionSection 7: Gastrointestinal System32 Oesophagus, stomach and duodenum33 Intestines34 Liver, biliary tract, pancreasSection 8: Endocrine System, Metabolic Conditions35 Adrenal corticosteroids, antagonists, corticotropin36 Diabetes mellitus, insulin, oral antidiabetes agents, obesity37 Thyroid hormones, antithyroid drugs38 Hypothalamic, pituitary and sex hormones39 Vitamins, calcium, bone