General Principles Of Pharmacology/Pharmacokinetics

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Pharmacokinetics is the mathematics of the time course of Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (ADME) of drugs in the body. The biological, physiological, and physicochemical factors which influence the transfer processes of drugs in the body also influence the rate and extent of ADME of those drugs in the body. In many cases, pharmacological action, as well as toxicological action, is related to plasma concentration of drugs. Consequently, through the study of pharmacokinetics, the pharmacist will be able to individualize therapy for the patient.

•A diagnostic tool

•A means to evaluate the extent and rate of delivery of a drug

•Prediction and understanding of adverse drug reactions

•A means of predicting conditions not experimentally tested, such as dosage levels, time, etc.

•A means of predicting biological levels in tissues not sampled

•A means of comparing animals within species or among species

•A means of quantitation biological variability

•A means of mathematically describing a biological system

Fig. 3.1 Factors in pharmacokinetics

Fig. 3.2 Time vs Concentration profile fallowing oral administration of an antibiotic

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