Hyperalimentation — the older term for total parenteral nutrition — is the deliberate feeding of larger-than-normal amounts of nutrients, historically by intravenous infusion, to patients who cannot be nourished any other way. Developed in the 1960s, it delivers complete nutrition — glucose, amino acids, lipids, vitamins, minerals — directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the gut entirely: a lifeline for short-bowel syndrome, severe Crohn’s disease, and catastrophic injury. The word also covers aggressive refeeding of the starved, which must be done with extreme care — refeeding syndrome can kill. Modern practice prefers the gut whenever possible (enteral feeding preserves intestinal function), reserving parenteral hyperalimentation for when the gut truly cannot serve.