Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index In Enteric feeding, a tube is passed up a patient's nose, through their pharynx, and down their esophagus. Liquid, easily-digested nutrients are dripped into the tube and digested by the patient. Most such solutions are a mixture of water, salts, sugars, vegetable fats, vegetable proteins and vitamins. Withholding of enteric nutrition is a standard way of performing euthanasia with unconscious patients, especially elderly patients who fail to have a prompt recovery from surgery or other medical mishaps. Some practitioners point out that withholding of enteric nutrition is less humane than use of opiates, because the patient dies a lingering death of dehydration. See also life support, medicine This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.