Preface
Medical pharmacology is primarily concerned with the 
mechanisms by which drugs treat disease processes, relieve
symptoms, and counteract the molecular manifestations of
disease. Pharmacology is also concerned with the factors 
that determine the time course of drug action, including 
drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. 
Students are often overwhelmed by the vast amount of 
pharmacological information available today. This textbook
provides the essential concepts and information that students
need to be successful in their courses without an overwhelming
amount of detail.
This text is primarily intended for students who are taking
their first course in pharmacology, but it will also be useful
for those who are preparing to take medical board or licensing
examinations. Because of the large number of drugs available
today, this text emphasizes the general properties of drug 
categories and prototypical drugs. Chapters begin with a 
drug classification box to familiarize students with drug 
categories, subcategories, and specific drugs to be discussed
in the chapter.
In the four years since the publication of the previous 
edition of Pharmacology by Brenner and Stevens, major trends
in the development and marketing of new medications and
new formulations were apparent. First, there was an explosion
of combination drugs released onto the market in recent 
years. This is a good thing, as there is often pharmacological
synergy between combined agents, but also because patient
compliance is improved. It is easier to take one pill than two,
or three, or four. The usual product combines two successful
and effective single agents for the treatment of a disorder. 
These newly approved combination drugs are included in 
this 5th edition of Brenner & Stevens’ Pharmacology.
Second, the market is flush with a number of new 
immunopharmacology products. Immunopharmacology is
now a well-ripened field and the fruits of this discipline are
apparent to both the physician and consumer by the new 
immunopharmacology drugs touted in TV commercials. 
Pharmaceutical manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies that
target receptors or other proteins is a rapidly growing sector
of biologics. Many therapeutic classes of pharmacological 
agents now have one or two drugs that work via antibodies
or that target immune system factors. This edition contains
a number of such new immunopharmacology drugs. However,
the FDA approval of monoclonal antibody drugs and other 
biologics often comes with a number of serious warnings and
adverse outcomes.
Third, during the last four years, the rampant use of prescription opioids and the resultant opioid overdose epidemic
were fully recognized. The appropriate response from the 
pharmaceutical manufacturers was to develop new agents and