Okuzeka
Veterinary Medicine vocabulary · Treatment and Medicines

Subcutaneous

Meaning in veterinary medicine, with examples

/ˌsʌbkjuːˈteɪniəs/adjectiveCommon term

In veterinary medicine, subcutaneous means: Under the skin. Used for injections, fluids and implants placed in the tissue just below the skin, and for lumps found there.

In Turkish: deri altı, subkutan

How it is used

Shortened to SC, SQ or sub-cut, which is also said aloud: give it sub-cut. Many vaccines and all microchips are placed subcutaneously.

Example sentences

  1. The vaccine is given by subcutaneous injection.

  2. There's a soft subcutaneous lump on her flank; it feels like a lipoma.

  3. Some owners learn to give subcutaneous fluids to their cats at home.

Common collocations

  • subcutaneous injection
  • subcutaneous fluids
  • subcutaneous mass
  • given subcutaneously
  • injectionA way of giving a drug or vaccine into the body with a needle and syringe, for example under the skin, into a muscle or into a vein.
  • IVShort for intravenous, meaning into or inside a vein. It is also used as a noun for an intravenous line or drip.
  • fluid therapyGiving water and salts to an animal, usually through a drip into a vein, to correct dehydration, support blood pressure or replace ongoing losses.
  • microchipA tiny electronic chip, about the size of a grain of rice, placed under an animal's skin. A scanner reads its unique number, which links the animal to its owner in a database.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Treatment and Medicines

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.