enteral

IPA/ˈen.tər.əl/
IPA/ˈen.tɚ.əl/

enteral — adjective

  • enteralpositive
  • more enteralcomparative
  • most enteralsuperlative

1. relating to a method of giving nutrition or medicine by passing it through the d

1.adjectiveC2
Definition

relating to a method of giving nutrition or medicine by passing it through the digestive tract, rather than injecting it directly into a blood vessel

Example

Dr. Meera prescribed enteral feeding for the stroke patient who could not swallow.

collocation: enteral feeding

The hospital in Taipei switched Marco from intravenous fluids to an enteral formula last week.

contrast: enteral vs intravenous

Common collocations
  • enteral feeding
  • enteral nutrition
  • enteral formula
  • enteral route
  • enteral administration
  • enteral tube
Synonyms
  • enteric

    broader term; enteric can also describe the digestive tract itself or the enteric nervous system

Antonyms
  • parenteral

    delivery of substances through a route other than the digestive tract, most commonly intravenously

Grammar Patterns

enteral + noun

Usage Note

Frequently used attributively before nouns such as feeding, nutrition, or route. The most common contrast is with parenteral (delivery outside the digestive tract, usually via a vein).

Common Mistakes

The patient needs parenteral feeding through a stomach tube.
The patient needs enteral feeding through a stomach tube.
Parenteral means outside the digestive tract (into a vein); enteral means through the digestive tract.

2. connected with the intestines and the parts of the body that digest food

2.adjectiveC2
Definition

connected with the intestines and the parts of the body that digest food

Example

The CT scan showed a narrowing in the 76-year-old patient's enteral segment.

collocation: enteral segment

Dr. Benjamin studies enteral pathogens causing chronic diarrhoea in rural Senegalese children.

Common collocations
  • enteral tract
  • enteral tissue
  • enteral system
  • enteral bleeding
Synonyms
  • intestinal

    much more common in clinical notes and everyday medical language

  • enteric

    overlapping; enteric is used for the enteric nervous system and for enteric coatings on pills

Grammar Patterns

enteral + noun

Usage Note

Less common than the synonym intestinal in everyday medical writing. Enteral is more often used in technical contrast with parenteral (sense 1) than as a standalone anatomical descriptor (sense 2).

Common Mistakes

The patient has an enteral infection in his skin wound.
The patient has an intestinal infection.
Enteral refers specifically to the digestive tract, not to the body generally.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Enteral and parenteral form a key contrast in clinical medicine: enteral routes use the digestive tract (mouth, stomach, intestines), while parenteral routes bypass it (intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous). Enteric overlaps with enteral in the anatomical sense (both refer to the intestines), but enteric has additional uses — an enteric-coated pill resists stomach acid, and the enteric nervous system is the gut's own nerve network. Intestinal is far more common in everyday medical writing when one simply means 'relating to the intestines.' For example, a doctor would say 'intestinal obstruction' rather than 'enteral obstruction,' but would specify 'enteral nutrition' to contrast with 'parenteral nutrition.'

enteral ↗entericparenteral ↗intestinal ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • enteral versus parenteral

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekEnglish

Borrowed from Greek enteron ('intestine' or 'gut'), combined with the English adjective suffix -al ('relating to'). The word entered medical English in the late 19th century as doctors needed a precise term to distinguish feeding routes.

First known use

1905

1905, in the meaning defined above