Pharmacology

As a 2nd year US med student I've gone through quite a few books to find a good introductory pharmacology text. Admittedly this is my worst subject and I am really happy to have discovered Brenner's book. The text is clear, the info is up to date and informed by the latest research. Additionally, the 4-5 questions at the end of each chapter are quite helpful. I am using this text in conjunction with Principles of Pharmacology Workbook, Pretest Pharmacology, Brenner's Pharmacology Cards, and Pharmnemonics cards. I find that while the text is the best introductory one out there, I need the questions and cards to reinforce the drugs in my memory. If you're considering Katzung's big book or Lippincott's Pharmocology check this gem out first. Another good book to look at is Principles of Pharmacology if you want more detail.

The new (2nd) edition is a nice update of the original text. It now includes review questions as well as new drug information since the first edition. The text itself is admirably clear and concise, and does a good job of describing the clinical uses of drugs as well as their mechanisms of action. This would be an excellent textbook for an introductory pharmacology course.

I found this book to be a great up to date (2000) review of pharm. It has just a bit more information than a pure review book, like the lippincott's pharm rewiew. The extra info helps put the drugs more in context to why they work or don't. It does not have questions to test yourself, the questions come in another "companion" book to this, so there is extra expence if one wants that- the only down side (lippincott's has questions in the same book). The class that I'm in is pretty much split on which one they prefer (the questions in the lippincott book sway some).