Suppositories are solid or semisolid dosage forms, usually medicated, for insertion into body cavities like rectum, vagina or urethral tract. They are designed to melt, disintegrate or dissolve at the body temperature.
Suppositories intended for vagina, urethra or nasal cavity are also referred to as pessaries, urethral bougies and nasal bougies, respectively. Distribution of a drug from suppositories may be either local or systemic.
Pessaries are also made as compressed tablets, which disintegrate in the body fluids. They are frequently used for local effects for relief of hemorrhoids or infection in the rectum, the vagina or the urethra.
Historically suppository dosage from dates back to 2600 B.C. and were reported in the works of Hippocrates and in Papyrus Ebers, Theobroma oil and glycerinated gelatin mixtures were recommended as suppository vehicles in 1852 and 1871, respectively. Suppositories account for about 1 % of all medications dispensed today.