Give an IM Injection

Choose an injection site. The three most favored are:

1. The middle third of the deltoid muscle in the shoulder.
2. The upper, outer quadrant of the buttock. This area avoids major blood vessels and nerves.
3. The anterior, lateral surface of the thigh.

Prepare your syringe and needle. Pointing the syringe straight up, check to make sure there is no free air in the syringe. If you see some, depress the plunger, expelling the air, until injection fluid starts to squirt out the top.

Cleanse the skin with an antiseptic solution, such as alcohol.

Using a quick motion, drive the needle straight through the skin and into the muscle. Stabilizing the muscle with your other hand while you do this helps for a smoother injection. Make sure you are entering the muscle at a perpendicular (90 degrees) angle.

Draw back on the plunger to make sure you haven't entered a blood vessel:

• If you get an immediate blood return, withdraw the needle completely and try again with a fresh needle.
• If you don't get any blood return, then go ahead and inject with a steady, smooth motion.

Once the injection is complete, withdraw the needle and briefly massage the injection site.

Watch a video showing an IM injection.

Middle third of the deltoid muscle Upper, outer quadrant of the buttock Anterior, lateral surface of the thigh.

This material was developed from A1701-78-1113V, "Injections: Intramuscular" Health Sciences Media Division, US Army Medical Department C&S, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

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*This web version is provided by The Brookside Associates, LLC.  It contains original contents from the official US Navy NAVMED P-5139, but has been reformatted for web access and includes advertising and links that were not present in the original version. The medical information presented was reviewed and felt to be accurate in 2001. Medical knowledge and practice methods may have changed since that time. Some links may no longer be active. This web version has not been approved by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense. The presence of any advertising on these pages does not constitute an endorsement of that product or service by either the US Department of Defense or the Brookside Associates. The Brookside Associates is a private organization, not affiliated with the United States Department of Defense.

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