CHAPTER I 



The Cell as a Physico- Chemical Unit 



Introduction 



In this chapter it is proposed to outHne the main aspects 

 of the cytological background which must be borne in 

 mind when the action of drugs is considered from the 

 point of view of cell physiology. In his books, The Mode 

 of Action of Drugs on Cells and General Pharmacology, 

 AJ .Clark drew particular attention to the importance 

 of the study of cell physiology in connection with drug 

 action. He wrote *'most of the functions of the body are 

 regulated by drug action, and hence the manner in 

 which drugs exert their action on cells has become one 

 of the most fundamental problems in physiology." 

 "(This study) is of course dependent on our knowledge 

 of the physical chemistry of cells." In the first instance, 

 we must make a study of cell morphology. But it is ab- 

 solutely essential that we should not confine ourselves 

 to the static morphology which is bound to be the result 

 of studies exclusively based upon the methods of classi- 

 cal histology. We need to consider every cell as a dyna- 

 mic organisation, as a system organised for activity, not 

 simply as a system which has a particular microscopic form. 

 Cell Physiology i 



