ON DEFINITION AND USE OF THE TERM BIOAVAILABILITY

In common usage, the rate of absorption of an active ingredient or its therapeutic moiety is generally not mentioned in the context of bioav ailability. In this communication it is shown that exclusion of the ra te of absorption may have serious consequence on the interpretation of bioavailability depending on the underlying model for the system unde r study. In the case of endogenous substances, the term ''bioavailabil ity'' is ambiguous unless one specifies whether it refers to availabil ity of the exogenous substance only or the sum total of the exogenous and endogenous substances.