administer by syringe

[VicNicSor]

inject
■ administer a drug or medicine by syringe to (a person or animal)
he was forcibly injected with a sedative
OED

Hello.
As I understand, the preposition "by" is used because it indicates "the means of achieving something, by means of". But why is it not "with" ("indicating the instrument used to perform an action")? Because of the verb "administer" ?
Thank you.

 

[lucas-sp]

Because you're reading a dictionary, and "by syringe" is shorter than "with a syringe." Word choice can change based on circumstance and context.

 

[sdgraham]

English is a versatile language and there usually is more than one way to say something.

Such is the case here, although the OED is not completely accurate, since the needle is not technically part of a syringe.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringe

One needs to affix a hypodermic needle to a syringe in order to inject a liquid substance into a human or animal.

(cross-posted with the above, which is a good point)

 

[VicNicSor]

Thank you all.

 

[AutumnOwl]

One needs to affix a hypodermic needle to a syringe in order to inject a liquid substance into a human or animal.

The needle ins only needed if the liquid is to be injected into the bloodstream, a muscle or such, if the liquid is to be injected by syringe into the mouth there is no need of a needle. I have had to use a syringe several times to give one of my cats liquid painkillers by syringe, not with a syringe.

 

[sdgraham]

The needle ins only needed if the liquid is to be injected into the bloodstream, a muscle or such, if the liquid is to be injected by syringe into the mouth there is no need of a needle. I have had to use a syringe several times to give one of my cats liquid painkillers by syringe, not with a syringe.

Interesting point.

On the other hand, I would not use "inject" when squirting something into somebody's (or an animal's) mouth (such as I have done with my dogs with worm medicine)

Yes, I did it with a syringe.

Perhaps that's just me, however.

 

[Liam Lew's]

On the other hand, I would not use "inject" when squirting something into somebody's (or an animal's) mouth (such as I have done with my dogs with worm medicine)
Perhaps that's just me, however.

Me too. Squirting something in somebody's mouth is not what I understand by injection.

 

[bicontinental]

The needle ins only needed if the liquid is to be injected into the bloodstream, a muscle or such, if the liquid is to be injected by syringe into the mouth there is no need of a needle. I have had to use a syringe several times to give one of my cats liquid painkillers by syringe, not with a syringe.

In a medical context ‘injection’ usually means administration by a parenteral route, i.e. a route other than the mouth, so it would involve some kind of skin piercing… hence the need for a needle as sdgraham stated above.
You can certainly administer liquid medicine orally with a syringe….or it can be administered by (a) syringe; either way is fine.
Bic.

 

[J0nDaFr3aK]

Hi there,
I'm not a native speaker, but to my understanding, though either way is fine (either to say 'with a syringe' or 'by (a) syringe'), the meaning changes a little. When you say that you're injecting a liquid with a syringe, you're specifying the object you're using to administer the drug (you might also say that you're injecting a liquid using a syringe.) When you say 'by syringe', you aren't talking about the object used, by the way or method of administration. In the end, nothing changes in spoken language, but the difference still stands...

you're more than welcome to correct me if i'm wrong

 

[jdb90]

Hi there,
I'm not a native speaker, but to my understanding, though either way is fine (either to say 'with a syringe' or 'by (a) syringe'), the meaning changes a little. When you say that you're injecting a liquid with a syringe, you're specifying the object you're using to administer the drug (you might also say that you're injecting a liquid using a syringe.) When you say 'by syringe', you aren't talking about the object used, by the way or method of administration. In the end, nothing changes in spoken language, but the difference still stands...

you're more than welcome to correct me if i'm wrong

Yes, using "by" to describe the method of administration for a particular medicine is common. For example, patients in a hospital who must not eat have a sign saying "nil by mouth".