Missouri Expanded Function Dental Assistant (EFDA) Basic Skills Practice Test

Parenteral administration means delivering a medication by a route that does not go through the digestive system. It is typically done by injecting the drug into tissues or directly into the bloodstream, such as intravenous, intramuscular, or subcutaneous injections. This bypasses the mouth and stomach, and avoids first-pass metabolism by the liver, allowing the medicine to act quickly.

The other options involve routes that do go through or involve the body's surfaces in ways that are not parenteral: taking a medication by mouth goes through the gastrointestinal tract; inhalation delivers medicine to the lungs; and applying medication to the skin is topical (or transdermal), not an injection.