Modern Medicines: The Discovery and Development of Healing Drugs

Billions of dollars are spent each year for the research and development of pharmaceutical drugs. Who invents or finds these healing drugs? How do we know they are safe? How are they tested, and how much time does it take from their invention to public use? What is the FDA, and how does it control the drug industry? Modern Medicines answers all of these questions and more. It tells the fascinating story of pharmacology, beginning with ancient medicine men and their herbs and continuing to today's high-tech research labs. This fully revised volume in the Science and Technology in Focus series presents the most recent research available in simple, straight-forward language that students and researchers can easily understand. Its over-arching perspective covers a wide array of topics, such as painkillers, antihistamines, hormone and steroid therapy, antibiotics, vaccinations, and much more.