Routes of Drug Administration

Student Objectives for this Chapter

• To describe the various routes of drug administration
• To understand the advantages and disadvantages of the various routes of drug administration

An alternate method of classifying these routes of administration is ENTERAL and PARENTERAL. Enteral means to do with the GI tract and includes oral, buccal, and rectal. Parenteral means not through the alimentary canal and commonly refers to injections such as IV, IM, and SC; but could also include topical and inhalation. We can also distinguish IV from the rest, as with all others at least one membrane must be crossed, thus an absorption process is involved in the administration and the pharmacokinetics.

• Dosage Form definitions from the FDA

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Copyright 2001-3 David W. A. Bourne (david@boomer.org)