The Journey of a Swallowed Pill

That pill you just swallowed is on an epic journey. Before it can even start working,

it has to completely break apart and dissolve in your gut. This is often the

slowest part. Then, your body puts it through an obstacle course.

It gets absorbed into your blood, travels to your tissues, and faces the "first-pass

effect"—where your liver destroys a big chunk of it on sight. Only the survivors

actually get to do their job. After the mission is complete, your kidneys filter

out the rest. This whole process determines how fast a drug works and how long it lasts.