Route of administration

Oral administration of a liquid.

In pharmacology and toxicology, a route of administration is the way by which a drug, fluid, poison, or other substance is taken into the body.[1]

Routes of administration are generally classified by the location at which the substance is applied. Common examples include oral and intravenous administration. Routes can also be classified based on where the target of action is. Action may be topical (local), enteral (system-wide effect, but delivered through the gastrointestinal tract), or parenteral (systemic action, but is delivered by routes other than the GI tract). Route of administration and dosage form are aspects of drug delivery.

  1. ^ TheFreeDictionary.com > route of administration Archived 2011-06-12 at the Wayback Machine Citing: Jonas: Mosby's Dictionary of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2005, Elsevier.