Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Drugs in the bloodstream refer to the concentrations of medicinal compounds that are present within blood plasma. These concentrations can change over time and are often modeled using differential equations.
5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
The rate of change of drug concentration in the bloodstream can be modeled by separable differential equations.
First-order linear differential equations are commonly used to describe drug absorption and elimination.
The half-life of a drug is a key parameter that influences its concentration decay over time.
A common model involves exponential decay, where the rate of elimination is proportional to the current concentration.
Steady-state concentration occurs when the rate of drug administration equals the rate of elimination.
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Related terms
Half-Life: The time required for the concentration of a drug in the bloodstream to reduce to half its initial value.
A process where quantities decrease at rates proportional to their current values, often used in modeling drug elimination.
Steady-State Concentration: The condition where the rate of drug administration equals the rate of elimination, resulting in a constant concentration over time.