pharmacology

pharmacology — noun

1. the part of medical science that looks at drugs, why they are given, how they af

1.nounC2
Definition

the part of medical science that looks at drugs, why they are given, how they affect the body, and what good or harmful results they may cause.

Example

At Johns Hopkins, Mei switched to pharmacology after seeing how cancer drugs affect patients.

pattern: switch to/study pharmacology

Professor Alvarez teaches pharmacology to second-year nursing students every Monday.

pattern: teach pharmacology

Common collocations
  • study pharmacology
  • teach pharmacology
  • specialize in pharmacology
  • pharmacology lab
Synonyms
  • pharmacy

    related but different, focusing more on preparing and supplying medicines than on drug action

  • toxicology

    narrower, dealing especially with harmful effects and poisoning

  • therapeutics

    focuses on treatment in practice rather than the full science of drug action

Grammar Patterns

study pharmacology

teach pharmacology

specialize in pharmacology

pharmacology department

Usage Note

Usually uncountable and most often follows verbs like study, teach, and specialize in. Distinguish it from pharmacy: pharmacology focuses on how drugs act and are used, while pharmacy is more about preparing and supplying medicines.

Common Mistakes

Evan is studying a pharmacology at university.
Evan is studying pharmacology at university.
Use the uncountable form when you mean the subject.
Lily chose pharmacy because she wanted to research how drugs affect cells.
Lily chose pharmacology because she wanted to research how drugs affect cells.
Pharmacy is about preparing and giving medicines; pharmacology studies how they work.

Word family

  • pharmacy
    nounC1
  • pharmacological
    adjectiveC2
  • pharmacologist
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Pharmacology is the science of how drugs work in the body, how they are used, and what effects they produce. Pharmacy is different because it is more concerned with preparing, checking, and supplying medicines to patients. Toxicology overlaps with pharmacology, but it focuses on harmful effects, poison, and safety. Therapeutics is closer to treatment decisions in real care, especially which medicine may help a patient most. Use pharmacology when the main idea is research, teaching, dose, or drug action. Use pharmacy for the profession or place that gives out medicines. Compare: Maya studies pharmacology in graduate school. Her brother works in a hospital pharmacy.

pharmacology ↗pharmacy ↗toxicologytherapeutics

Common collocations

Nouns

  • clinical pharmacology
  • experimental pharmacology
  • pharmacology department

Phrases

  • study pharmacology
  • professor of pharmacology
  • course in pharmacology

Prepositions

  • in pharmacology
  • of pharmacology

Etymology

GreekModern LatinEnglish

Pharmacology was formed in modern scientific language from Greek parts. The first part comes from pharmakon, a Greek word that could mean a drug, a medicine, or even a poison. The ending comes from -logia, meaning the study of something. English uses the word for the field that examines how drugs act and how they are used.