Book excerpt: This text is a complete resource for all the imaging technologies, not just plain film radiography. It provides introductory material on pharmacological nomenclature, drug classifications, pharmacokinetics, and drugs used in imaging. It also offers comprehensive coverage of diagnostic contrast agents, along with drug administration procedures, emergency responses to drug reactions, and legal and ethical aspects of medication administration. - Objectives and Key Terms open each chapter. - Learning exercises include true/false, fill-in-the-blank, multiple-choice, and short-answer questions at the end of each chapter, with answers at the end of the book. - Did You Know? boxes offer interesting tidbits of historical or current pharmacology information, connecting the book's drug content to everyday situations. - Clinical Alert icons point out possible adverse reactions and toxic effects. - Discussion of pharmacodynamics and drug classifications focuses on radiopaque contrast media used in imaging procedures, using clearly written text and useful tables. - Pharmacokinetics coverage describes how drugs are absorbed, metabolized, distributed, and eliminated. - Complete coverage of emergency procedures in response to adverse reactions to contrast media includes crash cart procedures and drugs used to treat cardiac and/or respiratory arrest and how to administer them appropriately. - Updates on all contrast agents. - New information on the use of contrast agents in ultrasound. - New Drug Classifications chapter. - New chapter on drug-related emergencies includes case studies. - Evolve Resources for instructors include a 220-question test bank and an electronic image collection.