cumulation

noun

A quantity accumulated: accumulation, aggregation, amassment, assemblage, collection, congeries, gathering, mass. See collect/distribute.

The process by which blood levels of a drug build-up, thereby increasing its therapeutic and toxic effects. If drug dosage exceeds the elimination rate, the drug will cumulate. Cumulation may result from poor elimination due to slow metabolism, binding the drug to plasma proteins or inhibition of excretion as occurs in sufferers of a kidney disease. Compare drug tolerance.