
Chapter 2
Empirical pharmacokinetics
2.1 Problem specification and some notations
In this chapter, we are going to discuss the standard model (or description)
of pharmacokinetics. It is a description where elimination is expressed in
terms of clearance (the volume cleared of drug per time unit) and in which
distribution is expressed in terms of volumes. The basis of this description is
a simple mass-balance equation. Before we can write it down, however, we
need some notation:
M(t): The amount of drug in the body at time t. It is generally expressed as
number of molecules (moles) or mass (weight).
a(t): The rate at which the drug enters the body at time ...