Oral administration is a

route of administration In pharmacology and toxicology, a route of administration is the way by which a medication, drug, fluid, poison, or other substance is taken into the body. Routes of administration are generally classified by the location at which the substance ...

whereby a substance is taken through the

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

, swallowed, and then processed via the

digestive system The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller compone ...

. This is a common route of administration for many medications. Oral administration can be easier and less painful than other routes of administration, such as

injection Injection or injected may refer to: Science and technology * Injective function, a mathematical function mapping distinct arguments to distinct values * Injection (medicine), insertion of liquid into the body with a syringe * Injection, in broadca ...

. However, the onset of action is relatively low, and the effectiveness is reduced if it is not absorbed properly in the

, or if it is broken down by

digestive enzymes Digestive enzymes take part in the chemical process of digestion, which follows the mechanical process of digestion. Food consists of macromolecules of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that need to be broken down chemically by digestive enzymes ...

before it can reach the

bloodstream In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart an ...

. Some medications may cause gastrointestinal side effects, such as

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, pre ...

, when taken orally. Oral administration can also only be applied to conscious patients, and patients able to swallow.

Terminology

''Per os'' (; ''P.O.'') is an adverbial phrase meaning literally from Latin "through the mouth" or "by mouth". The expression is used in medicine to describe a treatment that is taken orally (but not used ''in'' the mouth such as, for example,

caries Tooth decay, also known as caries,The word 'caries' is a mass noun, and is not a plural of 'carie'.'' is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The resulting cavities may be a number of different colors, from yellow to black ...

prophylaxis). The abbreviation ''P.O.'' is often used on

medical prescription A prescription, often abbreviated or Rx, is a formal communication from physicians or other registered healthcare professionals to a pharmacist, authorizing them to dispense a specific prescription drug for a specific patient. Historicall ...

Scope

Enteral administration includes: * Buccal, dissolved inside the cheek * Sublabial, dissolved under the lip *

Sublingual administration Sublingual (abbreviated SL), from the Latin for "under the tongue", refers to the pharmacological route of administration by which substances diffuse into the blood through tissues under the tongue. Many drugs are absorbed through sublingual a ...

(SL), dissolved under the tongue, but due to rapid absorption many consider SL a parenteral route * Oral (PO), swallowed tablet, capsule or liquid Enteral medications come in various forms, including oral solid dosage (OSD) forms: * Tablets to swallow, chew or dissolve in water or under the tongue * Capsules and chewable capsules (with a coating that dissolves in the stomach or bowel to release the medication there) * Time-release or sustained-release tablets and capsules (which release the medication gradually) * Powders or granules and oral liquid dosage forms: * Teas * Drops * Liquid medications or syrups

Facilitating methods

Concomitant ingestion of

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

facilitates in swallowing tablets and capsules.TheFreeDictionary > oral administration of medication
Citing: Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. 2009 If the substance has disagreeable

taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste. Taste is the perception stimulated when a substance in the mouth biochemistry, reacts chemically with taste receptor cells l ...

, addition of a flavor may facilitate

ingestion Ingestion is the consumption of a substance by an organism. In animals, it normally is accomplished by taking in a substance through the mouth into the gastrointestinal tract, such as through eating or drinking. In single-celled organisms, inge ...

. Substances that are harmful to the

teeth A tooth (: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

are preferably given through a

straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry wikt:stalk, stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the crop yield, yield by weight of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, ry ...

References

{{Dosage forms Medical terminology Routes of administration

Terminology

Scope

Facilitating methods

See also

References