# Does Subcutaneous = hypodermic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-subcutaneous-hypodermic/323957 "2005-09-29T01:45:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-subcutaneous-hypodermic/323957/1 "2005-09-29T01:45:24Z")
Are these terms interchanegable? If not, what is the technical differences? - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-subcutaneous-hypodermic/323957/2 "2005-09-29T01:56:28Z")
I’m not a doctor, but I believe “subcutaneous” means under the skin as opposed to an injection given into muscle tissue. Hypodermic refers to the method of introducing the substance either under the skin, into muscle or into a blood vessel. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-subcutaneous-hypodermic/323957/3 "2005-09-29T01:57:46Z")
Basically, yes, they mean the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-subcutaneous-hypodermic/323957/4 "2005-09-29T01:59:21Z")
> [@Snakescatlady](#): > > I’m not a doctor, but I believe “subcutaneous” means under the skin as opposed to an injection given into muscle tissue. Hypodermic refers to the method of introducing the substance either under the skin, into muscle or into a blood vessel. So, hypodermic is anywhere under the skin, but subcutaneous is more specifically immediately under the skin. For the layman, that’s good enough. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-subcutaneous-hypodermic/323957/5 "2005-09-29T02:07:05Z")
Sub = under Cutaneous = skin ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-subcutaneous-hypodermic/323957/6 "2005-09-29T02:10:49Z")
That is correct. Injections are usually differentiated into _subcutaneous_, generally with a very short needle inserted at a very shallow angle — an example being insulin injections for diabetes; _intramuscular_, generally with a long thin needle, typically inserted into shoulder, butt, or thigh muscles with a motion like throwing a dart — an example being a penicillin injection; and _intravenous_, generally via a sharp needle with a broader barrel, needle inserted at a shallow angle into a protruding vein after tying off the extremity upwind so as to make the veins bulge a bit — an example being general anesthesia drip for an operation. The needle in all three cases is termed a “hypodermic” needle, and the injections are all hypodermic injections of one sort or another. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-subcutaneous-hypodermic/323957/7 "2005-09-29T04:12:17Z")
While my esteemed fellow Dopers have got it mostly right I feel the need to chime in: What we call skin are actually layers of a whole system. The first is the dermis (top)then the epideris (which is where you find melanin, then the cutaneous layer which is actually a fine layer of fat that the skin rests on… It’s possible to give a subdermal injection without actually hitting epidermis. The only practical use of which I believe is to test for allergens (though I could be wrong about that). The epidermis is actually a fine layer of fat that the skin rests on. Hypodermic is a tad misleading as it refers any needle intended to peirce the skin. As **AHunter** pointed out. I think what you should be really looking at i the class of shots. Of ther top of my head they are: Subdermal, Subcutaneous, Intramuscular and intravaneously. FTR, to do an epidermal, as soon as the bore (the beveled edge tip of needle) is inserted in the skin while the rest of the needle is nearly parrallel to the injection site, but while still visible you inject. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-subcutaneous-hypodermic/323957/8 "2005-09-29T12:25:00Z")
**Stuffy** , honey you confused me. Epidermis is outermost and made of keratinocytes and stratified squamous epithelium. Next the dermis, with melanin cells Next is a layer of fat Next is loose layer of fascia Next the tight fascia over muscles Next the muscles Technically speaking, the hypodermis is the specific layer between the bottom of the dermis and the deep fascia, but the term is not commonly used to mean that. This site gies an overview of skin, it’s probably a bit too detailed and jargon filled, but it tells you EVERYTHING: [http://www.angelo.edu/faculty/rwilke/Bio1410/skin.html](http://www.angelo.edu/faculty/rwilke/Bio1410/skin.html)