FIGURE 1.

Pharmacogenetics is the study of how our individual genetic makeup can affect the properties of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. More specifically, how our genetics can influence our body’s absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of medication for all health conditions. Variation in genes encoding drug metabolizing enzymes, transporters, and/or pharmacological receptors found predominantly in the liver, but also found in the lungs, kidneys, and small intestine, can provide clinical information on a person’s drug-metabolic status, and may predict how they will respond to pharmacotherapy.