Pharmacology Notes

Viruses
Viruses are organisms that can live only inside cells. They cannot get nourishment or reproduce outside the cell. Viruses contain a core of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coating. Viruses damage the cell they inhabit by blocking the normal protein synthesis and by using the cell’s mechanism for metabolism to reproduce themselves. Viral infections include the common cold, influenza, measles, hepatitis, genital herpes, HIV, and the West Nile virus.