Abstract
A stated intent of this text is to introduce how pharmacokinetic (PK) concepts may unify many topics in comparative medicine. The author/editor has set out to illustrate PK concepts from a pragmatic and physiologic point of view, and the text is not intended as an exhaustive review of PK. The intended audience is students, researchers, and comparative medicine clinicians. This text is relevant to pathologists who need to understand chemical disposition in the body, especially those who work in fields involving exposure-based risk assessment. The text is organized into logical chapters on the major aspects of PK, such as absorption, distribution, elimination, metabolism, PK models, comparative PK, tissue residues, and drug withdrawal times. The table of contents and index are adequate. The references are presented at the end of each chapter and are primarily review articles, text chapters, and other secondary sources, as is appropriate for a text of this nature. Basic concepts are introduced in a clear and concise manner at the beginning of each chapter. The chapters covering PK and pharmacodynamic modeling introduce concepts clearly but rapidly launch into complex mathematical and statistical concepts and derived equations that are intimidating and are lost on the nonmathematically inclined reader. These mathematical and statistical concepts are introduced mostly to give the reader an appreciation for the basis on which PK software packages analyze experimental data. Therefore, less emphasis on equations, or perhaps separating derived equations into discrete sections in chapters or a companion handbook, would have been a better approach. An alternative approach with greater focus on core concepts, which could then be illustrated with voluminous and increasingly complex examples, would be more valuable for the average veterinary pathologist. This textbook fills a middle ground between the very basic primer and a detailed review of PK for the PK professional. I would recommend this text as a useful reading (not reference) resource for someone with some prior background in PK and an interest in better appreciating PK concepts.