The discipline of pharmacology is currently going through an important stage in its development. It is at that point where it is appropriate to begin to shift emphasis from what has been essentially a descriptive approach to one tied to a more general framework. The “aspirin through zinc paste” approach has reached the point where, if for no other reason, limitations of memory make it necessary to begin to codify the overall area. In other words, one must begin to focus on the similarities among drugs rather than their differences. This is what general pharmacology is all about.