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parenterally

parenterally

1 9.9
By injection or drip into the body rather than by mouth
  • adverb
  • /pəˈrɛntəˌrəli/
  • Specialized
: por vía parenteral
  • In emergency situations, medications are often given parenterally to produce a rapid response.

Examples

  • The doctor decided to administer the medication parenterally for quicker absorption into the bloodstream.

  • Patients who cannot take oral medications may require treatment parenterally to ensure effectiveness.

  • In the first article in our series looking at parenterally administered medications that are given by practice nurses, we focused on the administration of some of the more commonly given drugs that are used to treat, modify, or stabilize a condition, provide replacement of lacking elements, or are given to prevent conditions.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Proven hypocalcemia warrants calcium gluconate infusion parenterally and frequent serum calcium monitoring.

    Academic text (2015)

Synonyms

intravenously
vsparenterally
  • Specialized
6 6.5

A nurse puts medicine or fluid into a vein using a needle

covers all injection or infusion methods rather than a single route
subcutaneously
vsparenterally
  • Specialized
1 8.4

Doctors give medicine under the skin with a small needle

is the general injection or infusion approach, not a single insertion depth
intramuscularly
vsparenterally
  • Specialized
1 7.5

By injection directly into a muscle

is the broad method of injection or infusion, not limited to one tissue
intradermally
vsparenterally
  • Specialized
1 9.2

In a way that puts medicine into the skin rather than under it

is the overall injection or infusion category, not a superficial technique
intraperitoneally
vsparenterally
  • Specialized
1 9.9

To inject medicine into the space inside the belly around the organs

is the umbrella term for injections and infusions, not only cavity methods
intracardially
vsparenterally
  • Specialized
9.9

To put medicine directly into the heart

is the broad administration class, not limited to a vital organ injection

Surface Forms

parenterally positive

Morphology

parenterally = parenteral (opaque) = para + enter + al + ly

The adverbial -ly formation is regular, but the base adjective 'parenteral' is a specialized medical term whose meaning is not recoverable for an average learner from the visible parts alone.

Etymology

Parenterally comes from the parts para- ('beside') and enter- ('intestine'), so it literally means 'beside the intestine'. So, to give medicine parenterally is to give it by injection or drip, not 'by mouth' through the stomach and intestines.