The study of how drugs enter the body, are metabolized, and eliminated is called what?

• A. Pharmacokinetics
• B. Pharmacodynamics
• C. Pharmacognosy
• D. Pharmacoeconomics

Answer: (A)

Understanding how drugs move through the body from administration to elimination is pharmacokinetics. This field covers absorption (how the drug enters the bloodstream), distribution (how it travels to tissues), metabolism (how the body chemically alters the drug, usually in the liver), and excretion (how the drug and its metabolites are eliminated, typically by the kidneys). Grasping pharmacokinetics helps explain how quickly a drug takes effect, how long it lasts, and how dosing or routes of administration and patient factors like organ function can change those outcomes. In contrast, pharmacodynamics focuses on what the drug does to the body, pharmacognosy studies drugs from natural sources, and pharmacoeconomics analyzes the cost-effectiveness of therapies.