2025 RMA Practice Exam – Complete Study Resource for American Allied Health

The term that refers to the study of the nature, effects, and uses of drugs is pharmacology. This discipline encompasses the information and principles related to the chemical substances that interact with living organisms to produce a physiological effect. Pharmacology not only examines how drugs work within the body, including their mechanisms of action, but also explores their therapeutic uses, potential side effects, and the way the body metabolizes these substances.

In contrast, toxicology focuses specifically on the harmful effects of chemicals and drugs, emphasizing toxicity rather than therapeutic use. Physiology studies how the body and its systems function, and while it may touch on the effects of drugs, it does not specifically center on their use or nature. Pathology, on the other hand, is concerned with the study of disease and the changes it causes in the body, rather than the study of drugs themselves. Thus, pharmacology is the most appropriate term for the study of drugs and their interactions with living organisms.