Tablet pills work by releasing medication inside the body, which is then absorbed, processed, and delivered to where it's needed to have its effect.
Understanding How Tablet Pills Deliver Medication
When you take a tablet pill, it typically travels to your stomach or small intestine, where it begins to break down and dissolve. This process releases the active medication it contains.
The Body's Process: From Dissolution to Effect
Once the tablet dissolves, the medication embarks on a specific journey through your body to reach its target area and perform its intended function.
Here are the key steps in how dissolved tablet medication works:
- Absorption into the Bloodstream: The dissolved medication is absorbed from your digestive tract into your bloodstream. In every case, the dissolved tablet medication is eventually absorbed into your bloodstream. This step is crucial for the drug to enter the circulatory system and travel throughout the body.
- Travel to the Liver: From the bloodstream, the dissolved medication travels to your liver. The liver is a primary site for processing substances absorbed from the digestive system.
- Distribution to Target Areas: After potentially being processed in the liver, the medication is circulated throughout the body via the bloodstream. It is then distributed to one or more target areas in your body so that it can do its job. These target areas could be specific organs, tissues, or cells where the drug is needed to produce a therapeutic effect.
- Undergoing Metabolism: As the drug travels through the body, particularly in the liver, it is subject to chemical changes. Throughout this process, the drug undergoes chemical changes, known as metabolism. Metabolism helps the body break down the drug, making it easier to eliminate, but it can also activate or deactivate the drug depending on the specific medication.
This entire process, from dissolution and absorption to metabolism and distribution, is how a tablet pill ultimately delivers its therapeutic effect to the body.
