Intercompartment

Intercompartment refers to the space, interface, or relationship between two or more compartments within a system. The term is used across disciplines to describe how substances, energy, or information move or communicate between distinct sections that are separated for functional, structural, or safety reasons. The word combines the Latin prefix inter- meaning between with compartment, a distinct enclosed subdivision.

In medical and biological contexts, intercompartment is most common in pharmacokinetics and physiology. A multi-compartment model describes how a drug or substance distributes between compartments such as blood plasma and tissues. Intercompartmental transfer denotes the exchange of material between compartments, governed by rate constants and sometimes separation by barriers. This concept helps explain rapid distribution phases followed by slower elimination as substances move through the body.

In engineering, architecture, and safety engineering, intercompartment can refer to the connections and interfaces between physical spaces. Examples include the transfer of air, heat, or fluids between rooms or tanks, and the design of partitions and bulkheads that define compartments while allowing controlled intercompartmental exchange. Fire safety and ventilation strategies often rely on managing intercompartment connections to limit the spread of fire or contaminants.

Etymology traces the term to inter- (between) and compartment, reflecting its core idea: interactions occurring between defined subdivisions of a larger system. The exact usage of intercompartment or intercompartmental tends to vary by field, but the underlying concept remains the same.