We can define a drug as any chemical that brings about a change in biologic function

through its chemical actions.

Any substance or drug can act either as an agonist or an antagonist. An agonist is a substance
that acts as an activator, or promotes activity of a specific regulatory system or body process.
An antagonist is a substance that acts as an inhibitor, having the opposite effect to the agonist.

But wait, what do these drugs act on? Drugs act on a regulator molecule, known as a receptor,
which literally receives the agonist or antagonist molecule, and sends the signal to the body
system it regulates, changing it to the liking of the agonist (activate) or antagonist (inhibit).
A drug must have certain characteristics that make it appropriate for interacting with a receptor,
and each receptor is very specific, only responding to a very specific drug. Furthermore, in
pharmacology, a drug must also be easily delivered to a patient.

Agonists and Antagonists

Agonists
Drugs that occupy receptors and activate them.
Antagonists Drugs that occupy receptors but do not activate them.
Antagonists block receptor activation by agonists.

Agonist alone - full activation

Agonist + antagonist - less activation
Antagonist alone - no activation

Thus, drugs that are artificially delivered to patients must have the following characteristics in
order to be an effective pharmacological drug:
1. The drug must have a very specific size, shape, atomic configuration and electrical charge to
be able to interact with the receptor.
2. A drug must have the necessary properties to travel to its site of action or receptor from its
site of administration.
3. It must be easily inactivated or excreted from the body once it has been used for its purpose.

These drugs can either be synthesized within the body, in which case they are called hormones,
or chemically synthesized outside the body.
Of these drugs, poisons are drugs with harmful effects; HOWEVER, any drug or hormone in
extremely high amounts can have harmful effects and thus, function as a poison. Of these
poisons, toxins are poisons that are biologically svnthesized.

Toxicants substances that produce adverse biological effects

of any nature
may be chemical or physical in nature effects may be of various types (acute, chronic, etc.)

Toxins
specific proteins produced by living organisms (mushroom toxin or tetanus toxin)
most exhibit immediate effects
Poison
toxicants that cause immediate death or illness when experienced in very small