What it means
A device with a barrel marked in units of volume and a plunger that moves inside it. Syringes are used to give injections, flush IV lines and give oral liquid drugs. They come in many sizes; insulin syringes are marked in units and tuberculin syringes hold 1 mL.
For the nurse
Read the dose at the edge of the plunger's top ring at eye level. Use an oral syringe for drugs by mouth so they cannot be connected to an IV line, and use an insulin syringe for insulin.
At a glance
| Spanish | jeringa |
|---|---|
| Also written | syringes |
Related terms
insulin
A hormone made by the pancreas that lets the body's cells take in glucose, also made as a medicine.
subcutaneous
Under the skin; in the fatty layer between the skin and the muscle.
intramuscular
Into a muscle; used for a drug given by injection into muscle tissue.