This highly engaging and readable text helps nursing students establish a solid knowledge base in the basic science of pharmacology. Prototype drugs are emphasised and discussed in depth, with a focus on similarities among drugs in the same family. It reviews both physiology and pathophysiology to demonstrate how drugs work in the body and how this knowledge can be applied to patient care and patient education. In addition, to help promote a focus on the need-to-know large and small type is used to differentiate the essential from the nice-to-know content.