
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Goal with this book
When you take a drug, you do that because you want an effect – reduced
headache, relief from an asthma attack, lower blood pressure, or something
else. When you swallow a tablet, the substance in it is absorbed and distrib-
uted in the body, before being metabolized and/or eliminated. The science
that deals with this is pharmacokinetics, abbreviated PK. It involves a mod-
elling part in which data obtained from clinical studies are used to describe
how the drug is handled by and distributed in the body. Clinical pharmacoki-
netics is the bedside application of this information, assuring that the drug is
appropriately ...