Professor Saltzman starts the lecture with an introduction to pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Professor Saltzman talks about the concept of dose-response. He introduces different routes of drug administration and how they affect drug distribution and bioavailability (i.e., intravenous, oral, and sublingual routes). First-pass drug metabolism by the liver is also identified as an important source of drug degradation. Finally, modeling the body as a well-stirred vessel, Professor Saltzman explains the first-order rate equation: C = (M0/V)*e-kt, that can be used calculate the amount of drug in the body (M) as a function of time (t) and a rate constant (k); and the equation for drug half-life: t = ln(2/k).

Reading assignment:

Biomedical Engineering: Bridging Medicine and Technology, in preparation by Mark Saltzman (forthcoming by Cambridge University Press); chapter 14

Resources:

Summary and Key Concepts: Chapter 14 [PDF]