suppository

suppository

 [sŭ-poz´ĭ-tor″e]

an easily fusible medicated mass for introduction into the rectum, urethra, or vagina.

sup·pos·i·to·ry

(sŭ-poz'i-tō'rē),

A small solid preparation shaped for ready introduction into one of the orifices of the body other than the oral cavity (for example, rectum, urethra, vagina), made of a substance, usually medicated, which is solid at room temperatures but melts at body temperature. Suppository bases usually used are theobroma oil, glycerinated gelatin, hydrogenated vegetable oils, mixtures of polyethylene glycols of various molecular weights, and fatty acid esters of polyethylene glycol.

[L. suppositorium, fr. suppositorius, placed underneath]

suppository

/sup·pos·i·to·ry/ (sŭ-poz´ĭ-tor″e) an easily fusible medicated mass to be introduced into a body orifice, as the rectum, urethra, or vagina.

suppository

(sə-pŏz′ĭ-tôr′ē)

n. pl. supposito·ries

A small plug of medication designed to melt at body temperature within a body cavity other than the mouth, especially the rectum or vagina. Also called bougie.

suppository

[səpoz′ətôr′ē]

Etymology: L, sub, under, ponere, to place

an easily melted medicated mass for insertion into the rectum, urethra, or vagina. Theobroma oil, glycerinated gelatin, and high-molecular-weight polyethylene glycols are common vehicles for drugs in suppositories that are cone- or spindle-shaped for insertion into the rectum, globular or egg-shaped for use in the vagina, and pencil-shaped for insertion into the urethra. Drugs administered by rectal suppository are absorbed systemically, and this route is especially useful in babies, in uncooperative patients, and in cases of vomiting or certain digestive disorders.

suppository

Herbal medicine
A small cylindrical preparation of herbs in cocoa butter that is inserted vaginally or rectally for direct delivery of a herbal essence to the subjacent mucosa.

suppository

Pharmacology A solid form of medication of various shapes which, after insertion in the rectum, vagina, or urethra, dissolves
and is absorbed into the blood Vehicles Cocoa butter, polyethylene glycol Drugs Aspirin, barbital, chloral hydrate, phenobarbital, procaine, quinine, resorcinol

sup·pos·i·to·ry

(sŭ-poz'i-tōr-ē)

A small, solid body shaped for ready introduction into one of the orifices of the body other than the oral cavity (e.g., rectum, urethra, vagina), made of a substance, usually medicated, that is solid at ordinary temperatures but melts at body temperature.

[L. suppositorium, fr. suppositorius, placed underneath]

suppository

A vehicle for a drug in the form of a block of cocoa butter or gelatin of a variety of shapes and sizes that is solid at room temperature but melts at body temperature. Suppositories are placed in the vagina or rectum and release drugs either for local action or to be absorbed. They may contain antibiotics and antifungal agents, LOCAL ANAESTHETICS, CORTICOSTEROIDS, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and ANTIEMETIC drugs.

Suppository

A medicinal substance that slowly dissolves after being inserted into the rectum (or other body cavity).

Mentioned in: Fecal Incontinence, Hemorrhoids

suppository

an easily fusible medicated mass for introduction into the rectum, urethra or vagina.