Pharmacokinetics and Eigenvector decomposition. Two-compartment open system after rapid intravenous administration.

The theroetical background of linear pharmacokinetics is presented in terms of elementary mathematical operations while preserving the important aspects of eigenvector decomposition. The discussion is limited to two-compartment open models with rapid intravenous administration. Eigenvector decomposition allows to extend the theory in a straightforward manner to models of higher order and to other ways of administration. A computational scheme is included that can be carried out on a desk-calculator in a small number of steps.