compartment model

compartment model

[kəmpärt′mənt]

a mathematic representation of the body or an area of the body created to study physiologic or pharmacologic kinetic characteristics. A compartment model can simulate all of the biologic processes involved in the kinetic behavior of a drug after it has been introduced into the body, leading to a better understanding of its pharmacodynamic effects. Studies most frequently use one- or two-compartment models. In a one-compartment model the body assumes the characteristics of a homogeneous unit in which an administered drug diffuses instantaneously in the volume of body fluid. In a two-compartment model the body is represented as two distinct compartments, a central and a peripheral compartment, with two separate fluid volumes.