Editing Subcutaneous administration (section)

{{Short description|Insertion of medication under the skin}}
{{Redirect|Subcut|the song|Aftermathematics}}
'''Subcutaneous administration''' is the insertion of medications beneath the skin either by injection or infusion.

A '''subcutaneous injection''' is administered as a [[bolus (medicine)|bolus]] into the [[subcutis]], the layer of skin directly below the [[dermis]] and [[Epidermis (skin)|epidermis]], collectively referred to as the [[Cutis (anatomy)|cutis]]. The instruments are usually a [[hypodermic needle]] and a [[syringe]]. Subcutaneous injections are highly effective in administering medications such as [[insulin]], [[morphine]], [[heroin|diacetylmorphine]] and [[goserelin]]. Subcutaneous administration may be [[List of medical abbreviations|abbreviated]] as '''SC''', '''SQ''', '''subcu''', '''sub-Q''', '''SubQ''',  or '''subcut'''. '''Subcut''' is the preferred abbreviation to reduce the risk of misunderstanding and potential errors.<ref name="abbrevs">{{cite web | url=http://www.ismp.org/tools/errorproneabbreviations.pdf | title=ISMP's List of Error-Prone Abbreviations, Symbols, and Dose Designations | author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2013 |website=www.ismp.org | access-date=13 May 2013}}</ref>

Subcutaneous tissue has few blood vessels and so drugs injected into it are intended for slow, sustained rates of absorption, often with some amount of [[depot injection|depot]] effect. Compared with other [[route of administration|routes of administration]], it is slower than [[intramuscular injection]]s but still faster than [[intradermal injection]]s. '''Subcutaneous infusion''' (as opposed to subcutaneous injection) is similar but involves a continuous drip from a bag and line, as opposed to injection with a syringe.