Pediatric Development: Physiology. Enzymes, Drug Metabolism, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics

Growth and development consists of a continuum of biologic events that includes somatic growth, neurobehavioral maturation, and eventual reproduction, and has tremendous impact on the pharmacology of drugs in children. This impact is related to changes in body composition, development of organs and organ systems and change in these organs’ functions. Ontogeny is the science that studies the origin and development of an organism. Pharmacokinetics of drugs (what the body does to a drug) is summarized in the acronym ADME, which stands for absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination.