What is pharmacokinetics concerned with?

Pharmacokinetics is primarily concerned with the processes that govern how drugs move through the body after they are administered. This encompasses four key physiological phases: absorption, which relates to how a drug enters the bloodstream; distribution, which addresses how the drug travels through the body and reaches different tissues; metabolism, which refers to how the drug is chemically altered, often in the liver; and elimination, which is the process of how the drug is removed from the body, typically through urine or feces. Understanding pharmacokinetics is crucial for healthcare professionals in order to determine appropriate dosages, routes of administration, and to anticipate duration of action and potential side effects of medications.

The focus on methods for these processes makes this answer particularly relevant, as it provides insight into the dynamic relationship between a drug and the body, allowing practitioners to optimize therapeutic effects while minimizing adverse outcomes.