Placing medication under the tongue is the ______ route of administration.

Placing medication under the tongue is the ______ route of administration.

• A. Sublingual
• B. Buccal
• C. Oral
• D. Transdermal

Answer: (A)

Placing medication under the tongue is about delivering medicine quickly through the mouth’s mucous membranes, so it enters the bloodstream fast without going through the stomach or liver first. This direct absorption is what defines the sublingual route. Because it bypasses first-pass metabolism in the liver, the onset of action is typically rapid, which is why drugs like nitroglycerin are given this way for quick effect. This differs from other mouth routes: buccal involves placing the drug between the gum and the cheek, still in the mouth, but not under the tongue; oral involves swallowing the medicine, which then goes into the stomach and intestines and is processed by the liver first; transdermal uses skin patches to release the drug slowly into the bloodstream. So, the medication under the tongue is the sublingual route.

Placing medication under the tongue is about delivering medicine quickly through the mouth’s mucous membranes, so it enters the bloodstream fast without going through the stomach or liver first. This direct absorption is what defines the sublingual route. Because it bypasses first-pass metabolism in the liver, the onset of action is typically rapid, which is why drugs like nitroglycerin are given this way for quick effect.

This differs from other mouth routes: buccal involves placing the drug between the gum and the cheek, still in the mouth, but not under the tongue; oral involves swallowing the medicine, which then goes into the stomach and intestines and is processed by the liver first; transdermal uses skin patches to release the drug slowly into the bloodstream.

So, the medication under the tongue is the sublingual route.