MBBS subject guide
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the bridge from mechanism to prescription: how drugs act, how the body handles them, and how to choose and monitor them safely.
- chapter previews
- 18
- curriculum phase
- Phase 2, Para-Clinical
Study Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the bridge from mechanism to prescription: how drugs act, how the body handles them, and how to choose and monitor them safely. The NMC framework loads most of the subject into the PH1 competency block, which runs through general principles and every major drug class, then adds skills codes for prescribing, drug administration and communication such as PH3.1. MedNext maps all 18 pharmacology chapters to those codes, so you can see which competencies are covered and which still need work. Autonomic, cardiovascular, central nervous system and antimicrobial pharmacology carry the heaviest exam weight, and they are the classes you will actually reach for on the wards. Pharmacokinetics, adverse drug reactions and rational prescribing thread through the whole subject and are examined in both written papers and the practical skills stations. Applied pharmacology is built in: the management of common poisoning, the anti-tuberculosis regimen behind a DOTS card, and the drugs used in National Health Programmes are all tagged to their codes. Each chapter pairs a detailed reading with practice questions and a one-page cheat sheet under the same NMC tags. Learn the drug classes and their reasoning once and revision becomes a checklist rather than a re-read.
Browse Pharmacology chapters
PH1: General Pharmacology
General pharmacology for MBBS and NEET-PG: bioavailability, first-pass, zero and first-order kinetics, enzyme inducers...
Read morePH2: Autonomic Nervous System Pharmacology
Cholinergic and adrenergic drugs for MBBS and NEET-PG: atropine, adrenaline, beta blockers, alpha blockers and...
Read morePH3: Autacoids and Anti-inflammatory Drugs
NSAIDs, antihistamines and gout drugs for MBBS and NEET-PG: aspirin, paracetamol, COX-2 inhibitors, allopurinol and...
Read morePH4: Anaesthetics and Muscle Relaxants
General and local anaesthetics and muscle relaxants for MBBS and NEET-PG: propofol, ketamine, lignocaine,...
Read morePH5: CNS Pharmacology
Central nervous system drugs for MBBS and NEET-PG: benzodiazepines, antiepileptics, antidepressants, antipsychotics...
Read morePH6: Cardiovascular Pharmacology
Cardiovascular drugs for MBBS and NEET-PG: ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, digoxin, nitrates, statins and...
Read morePH7: Renal, Blood and Haematological Pharmacology
Blood and kidney drugs for MBBS and NEET-PG: heparin, warfarin, antiplatelets, thrombolytics, haematinics and...
Read morePH8: Respiratory and Gastrointestinal Pharmacology
Respiratory and gastrointestinal drugs for MBBS and NEET-PG: bronchodilators, inhaled steroids, proton pump inhibitors...
Read morePH9: Endocrine Pharmacology
Endocrine drugs for MBBS and NEET-PG: insulin, oral antidiabetics, thyroid drugs, corticosteroids and bisphosphonates,...
Read morePH10: Reproductive Pharmacology
Reproductive drugs for MBBS and NEET-PG: contraceptives, oxytocics, tocolytics, drugs for abortion and benign...
Read morePH11: Antimicrobials and Chemotherapy
Antimicrobial drugs for MBBS and NEET-PG: beta-lactams, aminoglycosides, antitubercular, antifungal, antimalarial and...
Read morePH12: Anticancer Drugs and Immunomodulators
Anticancer and immunosuppressant drugs for MBBS and NEET-PG: methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, targeted...
Read morePH13: Toxicology and Environmental Pharmacology
Toxicology for MBBS and NEET-PG: management of poisoning and specific antidotes including N-acetylcysteine, naloxone,...
Read morePH14: Vaccines and National Health Programmes
Vaccines and immunisation for MBBS and NEET-PG: live and inactivated vaccines, cold chain, active and passive immunity...
Read morePH15: Special Pharmacology
Special pharmacology for MBBS and NEET-PG: geriatric and paediatric prescribing, skin and eye drugs, pharmacogenomics,...
Read morePH16: Clinical Pharmacy Skills
Clinical pharmacy skills for MBBS and NEET-PG: writing rational prescriptions, dose calculation, medicine preparation...
Read morePH17: Clinical Pharmacology Skills
Clinical pharmacology skills for MBBS and NEET-PG: P-drug selection, adverse drug reactions, pharmacovigilance, drug...
Read morePH18: Experimental Pharmacology and Communication
Experimental pharmacology and communication for MBBS and NEET-PG: alternatives to animal experiments, dose-response...
Read morePharmacology questions
How many pharmacology chapters does MedNext cover?
The pharmacology subject hub covers 18 chapters, spanning general pharmacology, the autonomic, cardiovascular, CNS and endocrine drug groups, antimicrobials, anticancer agents, toxicology and the clinical prescribing skills. Each chapter is mapped to its NMC competency codes, so coverage is visible rather than assumed.
Is pharmacology content mapped to the NMC competency framework?
Yes. Every pharmacology chapter, practice question and cheat sheet is tagged to an official NMC competency code, for example PH3.1 for writing a rational generic prescription. This is the same framework that MBBS university exams, NEET PG and NExT draw from.
Which pharmacology topics carry the most exam weight?
Autonomic, cardiovascular, CNS and antimicrobial pharmacology dominate written papers and viva, while pharmacokinetics, adverse drug reactions and rational prescribing recur across the practical skills stations. These are also the drug groups used most on the wards.
Does MedNext include pharmacology MCQs and revision material?
Each pharmacology chapter is paired with practice questions and a one-page cheat sheet, all tagged to the same NMC codes as the reading. That lets you move from learning a drug class to testing and revising it without leaving the topic.
Can I preview pharmacology before paying?
Yes. You can preview the platform and read a free sample chapter after registering, then view plans when you are ready to decide.
Build a complete Pharmacology study plan
Explore clinician-written learning resources, structured revision and practice across the MedNext platform.
See plans
