AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 246, Issue 5 651-R664, Copyright © 1984 by American Physiological Society
Multiexponential, multicompartmental, and noncompartmental modeling. I. Methodological limitations and physiological interpretations
J. J. DiStefano 3rd and E. M. Landaw
Multiexponential, multicompartmental, and noncompartmental analysis methods
are conventional modeling tools in life science areas, and, on occasion, a
number of facets of each are misunderstood, misused, or misinterpreted. We
critically examine some of the assumptions, subtleties, and properties of
each of these methodologies, with emphasis on their applicability and their
interpretation in physiological terms. We discuss the similarities and
differences in noncompartmental and compartmental approaches, their
relationships with multiexponential models, and several important
assumptions that must be satisfied in the practical application of these
techniques. A key issue is the highly restricted structure of the
noncompartmental model, limiting its applicability quite severely.
Noncompartmental analysis is not model independent, as it is often called.
Another issue is the importance and manner of choosing a suitable
multicompartmental topology, consistent with system structure and modeling
goals, when a physiological mapping of specific model parameters is
desired.
