Most dictionaries define an ampule (amp, ampoule) as “a hermetically sealed vial made of glass or plastic that contains a sterile medicinal solution or a powder that is usually made into a solution for subcutaneous, intramuscular, or intravenous injection.”
The ampule is not a standardized unit for measuring mass, volume, or any quantity. Instead, an ampule refers to a single dose of medication pre-packaged in an injectable glass or plastic container.
For example,
- one ampule of bicarbonate is 50 meq (4.2 grams) in 50 mL, and
- one ampule of D50 is 25 grams dextrose in 50 mL.
- one ampule of calcium gluconate is 1000 mg or 1 gram of calcium gluconate (10 ml of 10% calcium gluconate solution).