This book is the result of a suggestion by an endocrinologist who acted as a referee for a longer concurrent book that I also wrote. He thought an introductory chapter (my Chapter 2) to that volume might have a more general and wider appeal if presented as an aid to understanding what pharmacology is all about. This origin has contributed to my broad selection of pharmacological examples based on drugs used by endocrinologists. However, receptors for hormones also provide some of the best-studied examples of the drug–receptor concept. Pharmacology impinges on many biological subjects apart from the practice of medicine. The published literature is currently vast, and a plethora of textbooks, usually unavoidably voluminous, is available. This primer is an expanded transcription from the other book, which I hope may provide a small, suitable guide to some fundamentals of pharmacology. It is hoped that it will be useful not only to medical students and practitioners but also to other biologists who may have a general interest in, but limited time to acquaint themselves with this subject.

I would like to thank the referees and editors at Cambridge University Press for encouraging me to write this book. The course in pharmacology given to the medical students at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine provided me with ideas regarding the format. The cooperation of authors and publishers in the production of the illustrations is gratefully acknowledged. My wife, Karin, and graduate student Mary Christine McGahan helped me to organize the material.