This edition has increased clinical emphasis, providing the student with the necessary overview on how a class of drugs will be used in a clinical setting. The use of two colours helps to explain difficult concepts easily. The clinical text relating to the therapeutic use of drugs has been pulled out of the main text and put into boxes for emphasis. Also, a clinical pharmacologist has joined the author team (Professor Jim Ritter) to increase the clinical content of the book. The text aims to put pharmacology into the context of other science subjects. Many chapters have brief summaries of relevant physiological and biochemical processes at the beginning to form a basis for the subsequent treatment of pharmacological actions. "Key points boxes" are included in each chapter highlighting all the main facts and ideas. Clinical applications summary boxes reflect the book's increased emphasis on aspects of clinical pharmacology and the clinical use of drugs. This edition contains new chapters on nitric oxides, neurodegenerative disorders and on diabetes and the control of carbohydrate metabolism. There has been major updating of: aspects of receptor pharmacology and signal transduction; cardiovascular pharmacology, including atherosclerosis and the control of lipoprotein metabolism; drug interactions; drugs action on 5HT receptors; growth factors and cytokines; the biology of cancer; the course of HIV infections and approaches to treatment; the aetiology and treatment of peptic ulcers; cyclo-oxygenases and the action of NSAIDS. In addition there are 40 new illustrations and existing illustrations have been further enhanced by the use of colour.