Section 1: General principles. What is pharmacology? -- How drugs act : general principles -- How drugs act : molecular aspects -- How drugs act : cellular aspects excitation, contraction and secretion -- Biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy -- Cell proliferation, apoptosis, repair and regeneration -- Cellular mechanisms: host defence -- Method and measurement in pharmacology -- Absorption and distribution of drugs -- Drug metabolism and elimination -- Pharmacokinetics -- Individual Variation, pharmacogenomics and personalised medicine -- Section 2: Chemical mediators. Chemical mediators and the autonomic nervous system -- Cholinergic transmission -- Noradrenergic transmission -- 5-Hydroxytryptamine and the Pharmacology of Migraine -- Purines -- Local hormones 1: histamin and the biologically active lipids. -- Local hormones 2: peptides and proteins -- Cannabinoids -- Nitric oxide and other gaseous mediators -- Section 3: Drugs affecting major organ systems. The heart -- The vascular system -- Atherosclerosis and lipid metabolism -- Haemostasis and thrombosis -- Haemopoietic system -- Anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant drugs -- Skin -- Respiratory system -- The Kidney and urinary system -- The Gastrointestinal tract -- The control of blood glucose and drug treatment of diabetes mellitus -- Obesity -- The Pituitary and the adrenal cortex -- Thyroid -- The reproductive system -- Bone metabolism -- Section 4: Nervous system. Chemical transmission and drug action in the nervous system -- Amino acid transmitters -- Other transmitters and modulators -- Neurodegenerative diseases -- General anaesthetic agents -- Analgesic drugs -- Local anaesthetics and other drugs affecting sodium channels -- Anxiolytic and hypnotic drugs -- Antiepileptic drugs -- Antipsychotic drugs -- Antidepressant drugs -- CNS stimulants and psychotomimetic drugs -- Drug addiction, dependence and abuse -- Section Drugs used for the treatment of infections and cancer -- Basic principles of antimicrobial chemotherapy -- Antibacterial drugs -- Antiviral drugs -- Antifungal drugs -- Antiprotozoal drugs -- Anthelmintic drugs -- Anti-cancer drugs -- Section 5: Special topics. Harmful effects of drugs -- Lifestyle drugs and drugs in sport -- Drug discovery and development.

"Comprehensive yet easy to use, Rang and Dale's Pharmacology has been providing core basic and clinical science information to students and healthcare practitioners worldwide for more than 25 years. The fully revised 9th Edition keeps you up to date with all that's new in the field, including new and emerging drugs and recent studies. From cover to cover, you'll progressively increase your knowledge of all relevant aspects of pharmacology, from a molecular understanding of receptors and drug actions through clinical uses of key groups of drugs"--Publisher's description.