Question

The nurse understands that the four phases of pharmacokinetics that a drug goes through include:

Select one:
a. Diffusion, bioavailability, metabolism, and excretion.
b. Absorption, distribution, ionization, and metabolism.
c. Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.
d. Active transport, ionization, diffusion, and excretion.

Answer 1

The four phases of pharmacokinetics that a drug goes through are absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. This describes the ADME process, which is essential for understanding a drug's efficacy and safety profile in the body.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse understands that the four phases of pharmacokinetics that a drug goes through include absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. The correct answer is c. Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.

Pharmacokinetics plays a crucial role in the drug discovery and development process by determining how a drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted (ADME) in the body. These factors contribute significantly to the efficacy and safety profile of a drug. Pharmacokinetic studies involve the assessment of how the body handles a drug and include the investigation of variables like bioavailability, the maximum concentration a drug reaches in the body (Cmax), and the drug's half-life. Drugs can be absorbed by passive diffusion, active transport, and other mechanisms, but passive diffusion is the primary method of absorption for most commercially available drugs.

Upon distribution, the drug is carried to its sites of action, metabolized mainly by liver enzymes, and then excreted through processes such as glomerular filtration, tubular secretion, or tubular reabsorption in the kidneys.