The pharmacokinetics of avian therapeutics.

The knowledge of drug disposition and metabolism in various avian species is rapidly expanding. Allometric scaling, as a new method for extrapolating a dose from one species to the other, is a mathematical characterization of the functional consequences of change in mass. Special attention, in addition, has been paid to interspecies differences in relation to metabolic elimination, anatomy, and physiology of the digestive and respiratory systems and differences in drug distribution. Intraspecies differences attributable to physiochemical aspects of the drug preparation and physiologic conditions of the avian patient can also influence drug efficacy. The consequences of the choice of a particular method of drug administration in relation to avian therapy are also considered.