Title: administration of drugs rectal route
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - administration of drugs rectal route
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.15147
Status: current

Definition
Administration of drugs into the rectal cavity or through the rectum.

Notes
1) Products may be solid (suppositories) or liquid unit dosage preparations, or creams, ointments, and gels.
2) This is an important way of administering a medicinal product that may not be tolerated orally, especially in pediatrics and geriatrics or when the patient has an infection of the gastrointestinal tract; or when the drug is less suited for oral administration because of side effects, bad taste, or enzymatic degradation.
3) The rectal route has several drawbacks. These can be, in addition to psychological aversion, slow and incomplete absorption, and inadequacy where rapid absorption and high plasma levels are required.

Related Terms
- administration: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15143
- enemas: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15184
- ointments: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15217
- suppositories: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15238

Source
- PAC, 2009, 81, 971. 'Glossary of terms related to pharmaceutics (IUPAC Recommendations 2009)' on page 974 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-04-10-14)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15147/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15147/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15147/xml

Citation: Citation: 'administration of drugs rectal route' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.15147
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Accessed: 2026-05-11T03:08:41+00:00