Structural identifiability and indistinguishability of certain two- compartment models incorporating nonlinear efflux from the peripheral compartment (Q1804848)

The structural identifiability of three similar compartmental models is considered where each system incorporates a different form of nonlinear efflux from a peripheral compartment. The concept of physiological or pharmacological effect is incorporated in these models in the sense that the ``effect'' of the substance input is governed by its presence on receptor sites within the system [see \textit{J. G. Wagner}, J. Theor. Biol. 20, 173-201 (1968)]. Such presence is in turn determined by the systems' kinetics or the form of the nonlinearity employed. The indistinguishability of these three systems is also examined using the recent results provided by \textit{M. J. Chapman} et al. [Math. Biosci. 119, No. 1, 77-95 (1994; Zbl 0817.92001)] for parametrized nonlinear systems.