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The Merck Manual--Second Home Edition logo
 
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Section 2. Drugs
Chapter 12. Drug Dynamics
Topics: Introduction | Site Selectivity | Drug Action
 
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Introduction

Drug dynamics (pharmacodynamics) involves what a drug does to the body.

Drug dynamics describes the therapeutic effects of drugs (such as relief of pain and reduction of blood pressure) and their side effects. But drug dynamics also describes where (the site) and how (the mechanism) a drug acts on the body. A drug's effects on the body may be influenced by many factors, such as a person's age (see Section 2, Chapter 14) and genetic makeup and disorders the person has other than the one being treated (see Section 2, Chapter 13).

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