Parenteral nutrition (
PN) is feeding a person
intravenously, bypassing the usual process of
eating and
digestion. The person receives nutritional formulae that contain nutrients such as
glucose,
amino acids,
lipids and added
vitamins and
dietary minerals. It is called
total parenteral nutrition (
TPN) or
total nutrient admixture (
TNA) when no significant nutrition is obtained by other routes. It may be called
peripheral parenteral nutrition (
PPN) when administered through vein access in a limb, rather than through a
central vein.