Basic pharmacology and pharmacokinetics.

The processes of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination are involved in the determination of blood drug concentrations from a certain dosage regimen. Various physiologic factors ranging from gastric pH to hepatic blood flow can affect the pharmacokinetic parameters that help to describe these processes. The result of altered physiology may be a change in drug concentrations that may cause toxic effects or no desired effect. Therefore, the clinician must have a knowledge of basic pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics to be able to predict the behavior of drugs in a body and ensure that the drugs are used in a safe and effective way.