Home > Route of administration

(Note: in toxicology, "exposition" may often be a more appropriate term, however "administration" can be used for deliberate substance use.)

Obviously, a substance must be transported from the site of entry to the part of the body where its action is desired to take place (unless this is on the body surface). However, using the body's transport mechanisms for this purpose can be far from trivial. The pharmacokinetic properties of a drug (that is, those related to processes of uptake, distribution, and elimination) are critically influenced by the route of administration.

1 Classification

Routes of administration can broadly be divided into:

• topical: local effect, substance is applied directly where its action is desired
• enteral: desired effect is systemic (non-local), substance is given via the digestive tract
• parenteral: desired effect is systemic, substance is given by other routes than the digestive tract

The following is a list of some routes of administration.

1.1 Topical

• intracutaneous (injection into the skin), e.g. allergy testing
• epicutaneous (application onto the skin), e.g. allergy testing, topical local anesthesia
• inhalative, e.g. asthma medications
• enema, e.g. contrast media for imaging of the bowel

1.2 Enteral

• by mouth (orally), many drugs as tablets, capsules, or drops
• by gastric feeding tube, duodenal feeding tube, or gastrostomy , many drugs and enteral nutrition
• rectally, various drugs in suppositoryA suppository is a medicine that is inserted either into the rectum (rectal suppository) or into the vagina (vaginal suppository) where it melts. Vaginal suppositories are used to treat gynaecological ailments, especially vaginal infections such as candid or enema form

1.3 Parenteral by injectionInjection has multiple meanings: In mathematics, the term injection refers to an injective function. Medical injection . Injection molding industrial process. Fuel injection in internal combustion engines. or infusionAn infusion pump or perfusor infuses fluids, medication or nutrients into a patient's circulatory system. It is generally used intravenously, although subcutaneous, arterial and epidural infusions are occasionally used. Infusion pumps can adminster fluids

• intravenousIntravenous therapy or IV therapy is the administration of liquid substances directly into a vein. It can be intermittent or continuous; continuous administration is called an intravenous drip . The word intravenous simply means "within a vein", but is mo (into a veinIn geology, a vein is a regularly shaped and lengthy occurrence of an ore; a lode. In biology, a vein is a blood vessel which returns blood from the microvasculature to the heart. Veins form part of the circulatory system. The vessels carrying blood away), e.g. many drugs, total parenteral nutritionTotal parenteral nutrition (TPN), also called hyperalimentation, is the practice of feeding a person without using the gut. It is normally used during surgical recoveries. It has been used for patients in coma, although enteric (tube) feeding is usually a
• intraarterial (into an arteryAn artery or arterial is also a class of highway. Arteries are muscular tubes that carry blood flow away from the heart to the tissues and organs of the body ( by contrast, veins are the return path tubes). The arterial layer that is in direct contect wit), e.g. vasodilatorA vasodilator is a substance that causes blood vessels in the body to become wider by relaxing the smooth muscle in the vessel wall. This will reduce blood pressure (since there is more room for the blood) and might allow blood to flow around a clot. drugs in atherosclerosis
• intramuscular (into a muscle), e.g. vaccines
• subcutaneous (under the skin), e.g. insulin
• intraosseous infusion (within bone; rarely used)