Synopses & Reviews
A Doody's Core Title ESSENTIAL PURCHASE! 5 STAR DOODY'S REVIEW!
"The 11th edition of Goodman and Gilman continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative single source on the pharmacology of drugs. The first edition was published by Alfred Gilman and Louis Goodman in 1941. It soon became known as the bible of pharmacology and, even though editorship and chapter authorships have changed continuously from edition to edition, this remains the gold standard of pharmacology textbooks....The print version should be on the reference shelf and the digital version on the computer desktop of all practicing pharmacologists, pharmacists, and physicians."--Doody's Review Service
Review
There are few technical books that remain in a leadership position for 65 years.
The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics is one. Physicians, teachers, and medical students have voted for
GoodmanandGilman with their feet and with their pocketbooks for over six decades. The question is not whether this is an important and useful text, but
why?
A sentence by the original authors in their 1940 preface still describes the 11th edition: “This book has also been written for the practicing physician, to whom it offers an opportunity to keep abreast of recent advances in therapeutics and to acquire the basic principles necessary for the rational use of drugs in his/her daily practice.” The books 65 chapters are grouped into 15 sections: General Principles, Drugs Acting at Synaptic and Neuroeffector Junctional Sites, Drugs Acting on the Central Nervous System, Drug Therapy of Inflammation, Drugs Affecting Renal and Cardiovascular Function…Chemotherapy of Microbial Diseases, Chemotherapy of Neoplastic Diseases…Hormones and Hormone Antagonists, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Toxicology, plus two appendices on prescription writing and patient compliance, and on the design of dosage regimens.
Reading the sections on general principles reminds one that, with the notable exception of antimicrobial and antiparasitic therapy, pharmacology is the science of altering human physiology by chemical means. The well-written chapter on treating hypertension illustrates this concept nicely; it is a pleasure to read and a vast improvement over the PDR or drug company ads. So too is the chapter on principles of antimicrobial therapy. Given the large number of authors, some chapters are easier to read than others, but none can be faulted for lack of well-organized and referenced information. Comparison of the current edition with the fifth edition of only 30 years ago provides an interesting insight into changing times. Then, the great Louis Weinstein personally wrote all the chapters on antimicrobial agents. In the current edition, five experienced and specialized physicians are required for that task.
Even so, a book this size is not the end-all of pharmacology. Some uncommon drugs or drug uses are not described; fortunately, references are provided to information in earlier volumes about some once-major drugs no longer available in the US: eg, emetine, which has uses, though no market, far beyond its amebicical activity. Unusual uses of medications are noted, eg, cimetidine as a treatment for warts because of its immunostimulant effects. At the other extreme, one imagines the current avian influenza threat will generate great interest in the section on anti-influenza agents. Surprisingly, immunizing agents are barely mentioned in the total of three pages. The ever-increasing complexities of HIV treatment are covered in an understandable fashion.
Appendix 1 deals with prescription writing, the potential for errors in drug orders, and patient compliance. The book closes with nearly 100 pages of tabular pharmacokinetic data providing nicely organized data on oral bioavailability, excretion, volume of distribution, half-life, and other information that is occasionally needed but not usually difficult to locate for commonly prescribed medications.
While GoodmanandGilman is no quick-read, it is surprisingly clearly written, logical and interesting. It is also an awesome realization to see how much one never knew, added to what one knew but forgot. Nevertheless, the logical, step-wise organization of The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics provides a much greater sense of confidence in ones ability for self-development than do drug company ads or their frequently underwritten large clinical trials for me-too drugs. I once knew an older physician in Baltimore who said he read ten pages every night from the then-current second edition. While this was easier to do with earlier versions, the task is still not inconceivable.
Reviewed by Vincent J Felitti, MD of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group.
Synopsis
The undisputed leader in medical pharmacology, without equal. Updated to reflect all critical new developments in drug action and drug-disease interaction. This is the “desert island” book of all medical pharmacologyif you can own just one pharmacology book, this is it.
About the Author
Laurence L. Brunton, PhD
Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine
University of California, San Diego
Laurence Brunton trained under Alfred Goodman-Gilman and is nationally recognized for his expertise in cell signaling and cardivacular pharmacology. He has published more than 200 original research papers. John S. Lazo, PhD
Professor and Chairman
Department of Pharmacology
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Under John Lazo's leadership as Chairman, the Department of Pharmacology is regarded as one of the leading academic programs in the United States. He has published extensively in the field of cancer pharmacology. Keith Parker, MD, PhD
Professor of Internal Medicine and Pharmacology
Division of Endocrinology
Department of Internal Medicine
University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine
Table of Contents
SECTION I: GENERAL PRINCIPLES
1. Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
2. Drug Transport/Drug Transporters
3. Drug Metabolism
4. Pharmacogenomics
5. Principles of Therapeutics
SECTION II: DRUGS ACTING AT SYNAPTIC AND NEUROEFFECTOR JUNCTIONAL SITES
6. Neurotransmission: The Autonomic and Somatic Motor Nervous Systems
7. Muscarinic Receptor Agonists and Antagonists
8. Anticholinesterase Agents
9. Agents Acting at the Neuromuscular Junction and Autonomic Ganglia
10. Catecholamines, Sympathomimetic Drugs, and Adrenergic Receptor Antagonists
11. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (Serotonin) Receptor Agonists and Antagonists
SECTION III: DRUGS ACTING ON THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
12. Neurotransmission and the Central Nervous System
13. History and Principles of Anesthesiology; General Anesthetics
14. Local Anesthetics
15. The Therapeutic Gases: Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Nitric Oxide, and Helium
16. Hypnotics and Sedatives
17. Introduction to Psychopharmacology: Drug Therapy of Depression and Anxiety Disorders
18. Pharmacotherapy of Psychosis and Mania
19. Drugs Effective in the Therapy of the Epilepsies
20. Treatment of Central Nervous System Degenerative Disorders
21. Opioid Analgesics
22. Ethanol
23. Drug Addiction and Drug Abuse
SECTION IV: AUTACOIDS: DRUG THERAPY OF INFLAMMATION
Introduction
24. Histamine, Bradykinin, and Their Antagonists
25. Lipid-Derived Autacoids: Eicosanoids and Platelet-Activating Factor
26. Analgesic-Antipyretic and Antiinflammatory Agents and Drugs Employed in the Treatment of Gout
27. Drugs Used in the Treatment of Asthma
SECTION V: DRUGS AFFECTING RENAL AND CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTION
28. Diuretics
29. Vasopressin and Other Agents Affecting the Renal Conservation of Water
30. Renin and Angiotensin
31. Drugs Used for the Treatment of Myocardial Ischemia
32. Antihypertensive Agents and the Drug Therapy of Hypertension
33. Pharmacological Treatment of Heart Failure
34. Antiarrhythmic Drugs
35. Drug Therapy for Hypercholesterolemia and Dyslipidemia
SECTION VI: DRUGS AFFECTING GASTROINTESTINAL FUNCTION
36. Agents Used for Control of Gastric Acidity and Treatment of Peptic Ulcers and Gastroesopheageal Reflux Disease
37. Prokinetic Agents, Antiemetics, and Agents Used in Irritable Bowel Syndrome
38. Agents Used of Diarrhea, Constipation, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease; Agents Used for Biliary and Pancreatic Disease
SECTION VII: CHEMOTHERAPY OF PARASITIC INFECTIONS
39. Drugs Used in the Chemotherapy of Protozoal Infections: Malaria
40. Drugs Used in the Chemotherapy of Protozoal Infections: Amebiasis, Giardiasis, Trichomoniasis, Trypanosomiasis, Leishmaniasis, and Other Protozoal Infections
41. Drugs Used in the Chemotherapy of Helminthiasis
SECTION VIII: CHEMOTHERAPY OF MICROBIAL DISEASES
42. Antimicrobial Agents: General Considerations
43. Antimicrobial Agents (Continued): Sulfonamides, Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole, Quinolones, and Agents for Urinary Tract Infections
44. Antimicrobial Agents: Penicillins, Cephalosporins, and Other b-Lactam Antibiotics
45. Antimicrobial Agents: The Aminoglycosides
46. Antimicrobial Agents: Protein-Synthesis Inhibitors and Miscellaneous Antibacterial Agents
47. Antimicrobial Agents (Continued): Drugs Used in the Chemotherapy of Tuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium Complex Disease, and Leprosy
48. Antimicrobial Agents: Antifungal Agents
49. Antimicrobial Agents: Antiviral Agents (Nonretroviral)
50. Antimicrobial Agents: Antiretroviral Agents
SECTION IX: CHEMOTHERAPY OF NEOPLASTIC DISEASES
Introduction
51. Antineoplastic Agents
SECTION X: DRUGS USED FOR IMMUNOMODULATION
52. Imunomodulators: Immunosuppressive Agents, Tolerogens, and Immunostimulants
SECTION XI: DRUGS ACTING ON THE BLOOD AND THE BLOOD-FORMING ORGANS
53. Hematopoietic Agents: Growth Factors, Minerals, and Vitamins
54. Blood Coagulation and Anticoagulant, Thrombolytic, and Antiplatelet Drugs
SECTION XII: HORMONES AND HORMONE ANTAGONISTS
55. Pituitary Hormones and Their Hypothalamic Releasing Factors
56. Thyroid and Antithyroid Drugs
57. Estrogens and Progestins
58. Androgens
59. Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; Adrenocortical Steroids and Their Synthetic Analogs; Inhibitors of the Synthesis and Actions of Adrenocortical Hormones
60. Insulin, Oral Hypoglycemic Agents, and the Pharmacology of the Endocrine Pancreas
61. Agents Affecting Calcification and Bone Turnover: Calcium, Phosphate, Parathyroid Hormone, Vitamin D, Calcitonin, and Other Compounds
SECTION XIII: DERMATOLOGY
62. Dermatological Pharmacology
SECTION XIV: OPHTHALMOLOGY
63. Ocular Pharmacology
SECTION XV: TOXICOLOGY
64. Principles of Toxicology; Treatment of Poisoning
65. Poisoning; Heavy Metals and Heavy-Metal Antagonists
APPENDICES
I. Principles of Prescription Order Writing and Patient Compliance
II. Design and Optimization of Dosage Regimens; Pharmacokinetic Data