Lectures and student presentations cover the morphology, physiology, pharmacology, and pathology of structures required for oral motility. Emphasis is on the clinical relevance of basic science information. Classical and current research in the neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, and neurophysiology of pain relate to clinical observations, pain syndromes, and mechanisms of analgesic drugs. Material is most relevant for dental, medical, and nursing graduate students. Offered fall semester.
Emphasis is on general pharmacologic principles and drugs used in dental practice.
Students complete a summer research project or term paper. Emphasis is on methods of measuring metabolites of local and general anesthetics and analgesia drugs. Topics include biochemical and neuropharmacologic sites of action of anesthetics, analgesics, and various antibiotic drugs, and endorphins and substance P in pain and anxiety. Topics include theories on the mechanism of action, structure-activity relationships, physiological effects of these agents, and drug interactions and clinical aspects. Offered spring semester.