This book is about the scientific basis and practice of drug therapy. It is particularly intended for undergraduate and graduate students of medicine. The book aims to offer a reasonably brief solution to the problem of combining practical clinical utility with some account of the principles of pharmacology on which clinical practice rests. The authors have tried to include sufficient practical details to enable some drugs to be correctly used. In addition, they mention numerous drugs of doubtful merit, and what have been called "me-tooers", in order to enable drugs to be recognized and a choice to be made from amongst the huge number of drugs and formulations of drugs thrust at the clinician by the pharmaceutical industry. The guide to further reading at the end of each chapter is comprised of a few references to original papers, to referenced editorials and review articles from a small number of English language journals that are likely to be available in even the most modest hospital library. The general references at the end of the book are to specialist reference books and journals that cover the whole field. An ELBS/LPBB edition is available.