What is pharmacokinetics concerned with?

Pharmacokinetics focuses on the processes that govern the movement of drugs within the body, which includes several key phases: absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. This branch of pharmacology specifically examines how a drug is taken up from the administration site into the bloodstream (absorption), how it is dispersed throughout the body (distribution), how the body chemically alters the drug (metabolism), and finally, how the drug and its metabolites are eliminated from the body (excretion). Understanding these processes is crucial for determining the appropriate dosages, routes of administration, and timing for drug administration to achieve optimal therapeutic effects while minimizing potential side effects. This field ultimately helps to predict how different individuals will respond to medications based on various factors, such as age, weight, health status, and more.