
Originally Posted by
FTLdude
Depends. They teach aspiration in the textbooks because newbie clinicians don't yet have the A&P down when it comes to location of the vessels and nerves. You are correct. In real life clinical situations, most experienced doctors and nurses don't bother to aspirate. Most adult intramuscular injections are given in the delts lateral to the acromion and about three finger breadths down, not just anywhere in the delt; and, not just anywhere in the butt cheeks, but in the hip area between the glute max and the glute med---using fingering technique and the bones as anatomical landmarks, that's basically how they determine the ideal spot to stick the needle. In these areas, one is least likely to stick a nerve, and the blood vessels that pass through are very,very small so trauma caused by the needle going through one of them is negligible. If injecting yourself just anywhere in the butt (which some guys do) and with anything longer than a 5/8" needle then the possibility of hitting a vessel isn't the only thing to think about. The sciatic nerve runs right through there as well.