2: Pharmacokinetics
- Review the four phases of pharmacokinetics.
- Explain the process of absorption, including how drugs and other substances cross membranes.
- Compare the bioavailability and the clinical implications of the various routes of drug administration.
- Discuss factors that affect drug absorption.
- Explain the process of how drugs are distributed throughout the body.
- Describe how plasma protein binding affects distribution.
- Explain the process of metabolism and its application to pharmacotherapeutics.
- Illustrate how genetics can influence drug metabolism.
- Compare the response of metabolizing phenotypes of prodrugs vs active parent drugs.
- Explain the three major processes of drug elimination.
- Identify the factors that influence a steady state.
- Explain how a steady state of a drug is achieved and maintained.
2.0 Pharmacokinetics Overview
Pharmacokinetics is the study of how the body processes a drug. Pharmacokinetics is often organized into the four discrete processes of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME). The first stage of pharmacokinetics is absorption. Absorption is the process by which a drug enters the bloodstream from its site of administration. Distribution is the movement of the drug from the blood into the target organs, tissues, and cells. Metabolism describes how the body alters the drug to make it inactive or make the drug more available for removal from the body. Distribution is the movement of the drug from the blood into the tissue and cells. Excretion is the process of the drug's removal from the body.