These books vary from just very expensive to mind-bogglingly expensive - it is not necessary for you to buy them but you may want to consult them in the library. This study guide has been designed as a reference to save you having to spend lots of money on textbooks.
This is a reasonable textbook but rather out of date.
A multi-author book which attempts, reasonably sucessfully, to be both an undergarduate pharmacology book and a clinical reference text. Not cheap.
A collection of most (but not all) of the package insert information for veterinary drugs available in NZ. Useful as a veterinary reference book to find out what’s available. For human drugs you need to look elsewhere (e.g. MIMS). Most of the veterinary info should soon be available on the www at: http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/acvm/registers-lists/acvm-register/index.htm although do not expect it to be in a user friendly form.
A very useful book organised on a systems / therapeutic indication basis. Dose rates for veterinary drugs and human drugs commonly used in animals. Although published in Britain, the 5th ed also covers European, American, Australian and NZ drugs, but the 6th only covers UK ones. As a general rule, drugs available here are a subset of those available in Britain. Good book but expensive.
Excellent reference for dose rates, indications, contra-indications and toxicity, This is a collection of dose rates from most reputable veterinary medicine texts and from some refereed articles. It also includes some human drugs used in animals. It is organised alphabetically by drug name, so it is not much use for finding out what drugs can be used for a particular problem. The information is well referenced, so you can go to the primary source if you wish. However, some drugs commonly used here are not available in the USA, so are not included in Plumb. This is currently the cheapest of the useful reference books.
Comprehensive but exorbitantly expensive. Worth consulting occasionally. Good for weight lifting.
Despite the names, these are a cross between a medicine and pharmacology book. They are written as clinical reviews of specific subjects, and contain much useful clinical information, backed up by a little science. However, they are not as current as the title suggests. There are tables of drug doses at the back.
For antibiotics only (covered in second semester):
Probably the most comprehensive book on veterinary antibiotics. Worth getting out of the library but not worth buying.
Useful reference for antimicrobial therapy. Set out on an species / organ systems and disease basis which makes it easy to use and apply. Heavy Australian emphasis which is not always appropriate for this country - possums are unlikely to get antibiotics in NZ!
These are useful for a basic understanding of pharmacology, but do not cover all you need to know.
Note that the library has lots of human pharmacology books for nurses, which are of very little use to vets.
This gives very comprehensive information about drugs, from chemical and pharmaceutical information right through mechanism of action to clinical human toxicity. It also provides a comprehensive review of physiology for each mechanism of drug action and is therefore also a very good physiology text. This book is expensive, but would be a valuable investment for anyone with an interest in physiology or pharmacology.
A very easy to read book with excellent clear diagrams. Probably the best book for a clear explanation of mechanisms of action of the drugs covered. The best value for money.
A good (and cheap) source of information on human drugs. Nearly all the human drugs available here are available in the UK (although the reverse is not true). Format the same as the Veterinary Formulary. The BNF is also on the web and available free through Massey Library.
The human version of the IVS, and contains basic information on most human drugs available in NZ. It is very expensive to buy, but is a useful reference in practice. The full data sheets are available.
An excellent reference on human drugs and has some veterinary information, but is too expensive to buy. Good for weight lifting. Massey library has a Subscription to Martindale.
The definitive book on toxicology in NZ. It only costs $40 to students, but if you can't afford this, it (plus lots more toxicology stuff) is available absolutely free.
Much information on veterinary therapy can be gleaned from medicine texts, such as Ettinger's "Textbook of veterinary internal medicine" Blood Henderson and Radostits "Veterinary Medicine" Lorenz and Cornelius's "Small animal Medical Diagnosis" and the Merck Veterinary Manual.
The Merck Index (not to be confused with the human or veterinary Merck Manual) is a good source of chemical information and references for drugs.
Some drug doses are given for reference but you are not expected to know them at this stage. References for doses: IVS annual, Bishop "The Veterinary Formulary”, Plumb “Veterinary Drug Handbook”.
The Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics is the main veterinary pharmacology journal. However, most pharmacology is published in the general veterinary journals such as the Veterinary Record and the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, or research journals such as Research in Veterinary Science. Even the New Zealand Veterinary Journal sometimes publishes papers on pharmacology.
The scientific pharmacology journals are useful: the British Journal of Pharmacology and the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics are worth looking at. There are also specialist journals such as Pain (free electronic access via the library) which covers scientific, human clinical and occasionally veterinary clinical work.
New Scientist and Scientific American often have short articles on new treatments.
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