Objectives

After completing this module you should be able to:

• Define the total body clearance and the organ clearance of drugs.

• Describe the relationship between the total body clearance, the volume of distribution and the elimination rate constant of the drug.

• Describe the relationship between the total body clearance, drug excretion rate and the plasma concentration of the drug.

• Describe the physiological meaning of the total body clearance in terms of organ blood flow and organ extraction ratio.

• Calculate the total body clearance from drug plasma concentration data and from excretion rate data after a single iv bolus administration.