Topical administration refers to which tissue?

• A. Lungs
• B. Skin
• C. Muscles
• D. Nerves

Answer: (B)

Topical administration means applying a drug to a surface of the body so it acts locally at that site. A surface tissue like the skin fits this concept because the medicine is placed on the surface and may act there or be absorbed from that surface. The other options involve different routes: the lungs are reached by inhalation, which is a respiratory route; muscles imply intramuscular delivery; nerves aren’t a surface delivery route. (In dentistry, topical drugs are often applied to mucous membranes, another surface example, but skin is the surface tissue listed here.) So the tissue associated with topical administration is the skin.