Bolus Placement
The placement of the bolus dose depends on the systemic levels of the contents desired throughout the body. An intramuscular bolus is used in the administration of vaccines to allow a slow release of the antigen to stimulate the body's immune system and allow time to develop antibodies. Subcutaneous injections are used by heroin addicts (called 'skin popping', referring to the bump formed by the bolus of heroin), to sustain a slow release that staves off withdrawal symptoms without producing euphoria.
A bolus delivered directly to the veins through an intravenous drip allows a much faster delivery which quickly raises the concentration of the substance in the blood to an effective level. This is typically done at the beginning of a treatment or after a removal of medicine from blood (e.g. through dialysis).
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