What is pharmacokinetics?

• A. Movement of medication through absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion
• B. Drug-target interactions
• C. Therapeutic class
• D. Metabolic rate

Answer: (A)

Pharmacokinetics describes how the body handles a drug over time, traced through absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. This ADME framework explains how quickly a drug enters the bloodstream, reaches target tissues, is transformed into metabolites, and is eliminated, which together shape the onset, intensity, and duration of its effect. Factors like the route of administration, blood flow to organs, organ function, and drug interactions influence these processes.

Drug-target interactions fall under pharmacodynamics, describing what the drug does to the body at receptors and enzymes. Therapeutic class is about how drugs are categorized by use or mechanism, not how the body processes them. Metabolic rate is only one piece of metabolism and doesn’t capture the full pharmacokinetic picture.