Bolus (medicine)

Bolus (medicine)

In medicine, a bolus (from Latin "", ball) is the administration of a medication, drug or other compound that is given to raise blood concentration to an effective level. The administration can be given intravenously, by intramuscular or subcutaneous injection.

Bolus placement

The placement of the bolus depends on the systemic levels of the contents desired throughout the body. An intramuscular bolus is used in the administration of vaccines to allow a slow release of the antigen to stimulate the body's immune system and allow time to develop antibodies. Subcutaneous injections are used by heroin addicts (called 'skin popping', referring to the bump formed by the bolus of heroin), to sustain a slow release that staves off withdrawal symptoms without producing euphoria. [cite web | url = http://www.metrokc.gov/health/apu/harmred/muscling.htm | title = HIV/AIDS Program: Muscling and skin popping | date = 2003-11-19 | format = html | language = english | accessdate = 2007-10-30 | publisher = Seattle and King County Public Health Department]

A bolus delivered directly to the veins through an intravenous drip allows a much faster delivery which quickly raises the concentration of the substance in the blood to an effective level. This is typically done at the beginning of a treatment or after a removal of medicine from blood (e.g. through dialysis).

Diabetes

Diabetics and health care professionals use bolus to refer to a dosage of fast-acting insulin with a meal (as opposed to basal rate, which is a dose of slow-acting insulin or the continuous pumping a small quantity of fast-acting insulin to cover the glucose output of the liver). [cite web | url = http://www.diabetescaregroup.info/insulin-pump-terminology | title = Insulin Pump Terminology | date = 2007 | accessdate = 2007-07-13]

Veterinary medicine

In veterinary medicine a bolus is a large time-release tablet that stays in the rumen of cattle, goats and sheep.

References

External links

* [http://vam.anest.ufl.edu/maren/secondorderstochasticsim2.html Free Stochastic Simulation of a Bolus in a Two Compartment Pharmacokinetic Model] (requires ActiveX)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bolus — can refer to: * Bolus (medicine) the administration of a drug, medication or other substance in the form of a single, large dose * Bolus (radiation therapy) a tissue equivalent substance used in radiation therapy * Bolus (digestion) a ball shaped …   Wikipedia

  • bolus — 1. A single, relatively large quantity of a substance, usually one intended for therapeutic use, such as a b. dose of a drug injected intravenously. 2. A masticated morsel of food or another substance ready to be swallowed, such as a b. of barium …   Medical dictionary

  • bolus dressing — tie over d …   Medical dictionary

  • medicine — n 1. medication, medicament, drug, pharmaceutical, prescription drug, officinal, prescription, preparation; over the counter drug or medicine, nonprescription medication, proprietory medicine; miracle or wonder drug, antitoxin, vaccine;… …   A Note on the Style of the synonym finder

  • alimentary bolus — food bolus the mass of food in the oropharynx or the esophagus, comprising one swallow …   Medical dictionary

  • bolus — [ bəʊləs] noun (plural boluses) 1》 a small rounded mass of a substance, especially of food being swallowed. 2》 a large pill used in veterinary medicine.     ↘Medicine a single dose of a drug given all at once. Origin C16: via late L. from Gk… …   English new terms dictionary

  • bolus — /ˈboʊləs/ (say bohluhs) noun Medicine 1. a round mass of medicine, larger than an ordinary pill, forming a dose. 2. a lump of masticated food which enters the oesophagus at one swallow. {Late Latin, from Greek bolos lump} …  

  • Esophageal food bolus obstruction — Infobox Disease Name = PAGENAME Caption = Endoscopic image of patient with esophageal food bolus obstruction due to a grape in the setting of eosinophilic esophagitis DiseasesDB = 17942 ICD10 = ICD9 = ICD9|787.2 ICDO = OMIM = MedlinePlus =… …   Wikipedia

  • Western-style Chinese medicine — For centuries, traditional Chinese medicines were manufactured as bolus, powder, plaster, pellet, decoction and liquor out of herbs, insects and animal parts that proved to have medicinal effectiveness. Without modern technology, these potent… …   Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture

  • Basal (medicine) — Basal refers to a minimal level that is necessary for health or life. As used by diabetics and health care professionals, it describes a low, continuous dosage of insulin (either as a basal rate from an insulin pump or a slow acting insulin… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”