Resorptive action of medicinal substances - what is it?

Medicinal substances can realize their effect on the body in several ways. This depends on a number of concomitant factors: the mode of administration, the location of the application, the duration of application, and the specifics of the compound itself.

Resorptive action

One way of influencing substances on the body is resorptive (from Latin resorbeo - "absorption"). This is the effect that is manifested after the absorption of a compound in the blood. Getting into the vascular channel, this substance can spread throughout the body in a short time and exert the necessary influence on a specific target organ (selective action), tissue or body as a whole (general action).

Resorptive effect is peculiar not only to medicines, but also to many toxic substances. This effect is the basis of many pesticides, for example used for the destruction of insects. The resorptivity of the compound depends on the pathways and its ability to penetrate the cell barriers. Resorptive action can be both oppressive and exciting, it all depends on the specificity of the drug.

Penetration into the body

The agent of resorptive action can enter the blood in various ways: directly by injection, through the gastrointestinal tract after absorption in the intestine or absorbed through the skin. In the latter case, a skin-resorptive effect occurs. This is due to the properties of certain substances to penetrate through the veil of the body. This effect has medicines in the form of ointments, creams, lotions, compresses, rinses.

If the action of the substance is carried out only at the place of its immediate application, it is called local. The zone of its influence is strictly localized. However, this concept wanders relative, therefore, the penetration of matter through the skin into the total blood flow occurs in any case. Therefore, in some situations, local action can be called resorptive.

Mode of action

Resorptive action of medicinal substances can be direct or reflex:

• Direct influence. It is realized only in the place of direct contact of a substance with a tissue or organ.
• Reflex influence. It is implemented in a slightly different way. The medicinal substance first affects certain receptors, causing their irritation. Further, the effect manifests itself in the change in the general state or in the involved nerve centers. In some cases, the work of those organs whose receptors have been irritated varies. For example, with the disease of the respiratory system, the use of mustard plasters is used. At the same time, the effect on the exteroreceptors of the skin reflexively increases the metabolic processes in the lung tissues, and increases the intensity of respiration.

Preparations of resorptive action

There are different groups of resorptive drugs, depending on the mechanism of their action. Some of them:

• Means for separating sputum from cough. First they are absorbed in the intestines, then, getting into the bloodstream, they reach the respiratory organs (lungs, bronchi). After that, active secretion of mucous membranes of the lungs and bronchi of the active substance begins (sodium iodide, ammonium chloride). This phenomenon and determines the health effect - liquefaction of sputum, its isolation.
• Local anesthetics (lidocaine, novocaine). The mechanism of their action is associated with the blocking of transmission of the nerve impulse, due to which certain parts of the body lose tactile, thermal or other sensitivity.
• Narcotic analgesics (morphine, codeine). Their action is associated with the blocking of nerve impulses that flow directly into the brain, which eliminates or weakens the pain syndrome.