General and Systematic Veterinary Pharmacology

DOSE RELATED TERMS

• Dose of the drug is an estimate amount of a drug, that when administered by a particular route to a certain species is most likely to produce a certain intensity of response. It is the quantity of medication to be administered at one time. Dosage is the determination and regulation of doses.
• Posology is the study of the medicine dosages, which varies with the species of animals, the intended effect of the drug and the individual tolerance or susceptibility.
• Loading dose is one or a series of doses that may be given at the onset of therapy with the aim of achieving the target concentration rapidly.
• Maintenance dose is a series of relatively small doses that follow the loading dose in order to maintain an effective concentration in the bio phase.