Syringe is the general name for tools that are used in the field of technology, cooking and medicine. Let's consider the last option in more detail. Medical syringes are necessary for the collection of biological fluids, the introduction of medicinal solutions and the installation of droppers. In practice, several unique types of syringes are used that have been developed for specific purposes (for example, Janet's syringe). What you need to know about the device, on what principle does it work and what rules should be taken into account during the injection?
general characteristics
Most syringes are hollow cylinders marked with a scale. A needle is placed on the base of the cylinder, and a piston is connected to the back side. It regulates the intensity of the introduction or intake of fluids through a simple mechanism. The harder and harder the doctor presses on the plunger, the more fluid / biological material will be injected or received.
The design and specificity of syringes has gone from hollow tubes to disposable sterile instruments. Only one thing remained unchanged - the use of a press and a needle (in various variations that depended on the time). Nowadays, the most popular are disposable plastic syringes with a stainless steel needle. They are sold in pharmacies, used in specialized medical institutions due to their low cost, sterility, and ease of use. The invention of the first disposable syringe belongs to Colin Murdoch. At the time of opening (1956) he was only 27 years old.
Brief historical background
An interesting fact is that intravenous injections have been carried out since the 17th century, but the invention of syringes dates back only to the 19th century. In 1853, an incredible idea was visited by two scientists at once - the Scotsman Alexander Wood and the Frenchman Charles-Gabriel Pravas. Scientists worked independently of each other, and the world community calls this fact an amazing coincidence.
The Pravas syringe consisted of three elements. This is a glass cylinder with a metal frame, a cannula for a tubular needle made of silver or gold, a graduated metal piston made of durite, asbestos or vulcanized rubber. Wood's medical instrument also consisted of a hollow needle and barrel, but was not used for surgical purposes but for hypodermic injection. Wood wanted to alleviate the fate of his own patients, who did not tolerate anesthesia well or did not feel its effects at all. He began injecting opiates into the pain points and waiting for the patient's response. The substances quickly spread through the bloodstream and blocked pain, which significantly increased the effectiveness of therapy.
The invention of disposable syringes
New Zealander Colin Murdoch was able to bring the idea of a disposable syringe to life. He received the profession of a pharmacist, but decided to work as a veterinarian for a while. Murdoch was faced with the problem of safe injections for animals. The reusable glass devices were fraught with many dangers that the New Zealander was able to neutralize in 1956. It was at this time that he patented the first disposable medical syringe, which is still used all over the world. Murdoch's invention remains one of the most widely used medical items, with quantities in the billions.
Modern science is trying to invent a truly disposable syringe, physically depriving the structure of the possibility of reuse. The relevance and importance of the task is due to the rapid spread of HIV and other infections that threaten human life. Some scientists have made significant progress in research and even received patents for existing developments. But there is still no reliable and cost-effective solution to the problem.
In many countries of the world, charitable organizations are engaged in the exchange of syringes, their disposal, and conduct educational work among the population in order to reduce the spread of infections.
The principle of operation and design of the tool
All syringes work according to the same mechanism. The needle is placed in a container with liquid. The person then lifts the piston, which creates a vacuum between the device and the surface. A biological fluid or a special substance rushes out of its vessel under the influence of atmospheric pressure and enters the inside of a closed cylinder. Later, the cylinder is removed, and the liquid is used for the desired purposes. Let's consider in more detail the design, specifics, features and sequence of the tool.
Two-piece design
The two-piece device is based on a cylinder and a piston. The main disadvantage of this design is tightness. To achieve this, the diameter of the piston must exceed the size of the cylinder inside which it is located and on which it will slide during injection. In motion, the piston literally strips off microparticles of polypropylene from the cylinder, which can affect the test result.
What's more, the two-piece design requires a lot of effort on the part of the healthcare professional. applies significant force to push the piston, ceases to clearly control the process, injects the drug in jerks, hurts the patient and feels discomfort in the hand used.
Three-piece design
The three-piece design includes a rubber seal in addition to the piston and cylinder. The element is attached to the piston to reduce friction and greatly facilitate tool use. The seal is made not only from natural rubber, but also from rubber, latex admixtures and other things. The composition depends on the manufacturer, the cost of materials and the specifics of use.
The needle is not the third component of the syringe. This is a common misconception among both consumers and healthcare professionals.
The rubber seals affected not only comfort or safety, but also the accuracy of the procedure. The piston does not touch the plastic particles of the cylinder, which means they cannot get into the fluid or drug sample.
Varieties of medical syringes
Volume classification:
- Small (0.3; 0.5; 1 milliliter). They are used in neonatology, phthisiology and endocrinology. Also, with the help of small syringes, vaccinations are carried out, allergic intradermal tests are done.
- Standard (2 to 22 milliliters). They are used in all branches of medicine for subcutaneous, intramuscular and intravenous injections.
- Large (30, 50, 60, 100 milliliters). A large volume is required for suctioning fluid, introducing specific nutrients and flushing body cavities (for example, Janet's syringe for washing the ear).
Classification by type of needle attachment:
- Luer. The most common type of attachment. The shape of the cylinder provides for a special protruding part to which the needle is attached before use. Luer is used in most syringes with a volume of 1 to 100 milliliters.
- Luer-lok. If during Luer-fastening the needle is "put" on the syringe, then Luer-rock provides for its screwing. It is most often used in devices for injection and droppers, when it is necessary to secure the needle to the syringe as firmly as possible.
- Non-removable needle that is integrated into the body of the device. Fixed needles are most often used in small-volume syringes - up to 1 milliliter.
Classification by the position of the tip-cone on the cylinder:
- Concentric. The tip into which the needle is inserted or screwed is located in the center of the device. This is the most comfortable position for both the healthcare professional and the patient. It is necessary for subcutaneous / intramuscular injections, the volume of which does not exceed 10 milliliters.
- Eccentric. The tip is slightly offset to the left or right side of the cylinder. It is found in syringes with a volume of about 20 milliliters, which are used to draw venous blood from the elbow area.
Janet's syringe
Designed for aspiration of liquids and rinsing of internal cavities. It can also be used for enteral nutrition (the introduction of mixtures and liquid products through the oral cavity) or emergency evacuation of air when gases accumulate inside the body. It is also possible to use Janet's syringe for intravenous / intraperitoneal infusions. The volume of the device can reach 250 milliliters, which makes it the "largest" of all syringes used in medical practice.
Insulin syringe
Used to inject insulin. The peculiarity of the device is a relatively short needle that does not cause pain to the patient. This aspect is extremely important, since in most cases a person injects insulin on their own. The cylinder scale is marked not only in standard milliliters, but also in units for the dosage of the hormone. Insulin is administered in small amounts, therefore, for the convenience of patients, a specific piston shape has been developed. It allows you to easily type and administer the required amount of medicine.
Carpool syringe
It is used to administer carpool anesthesia during dental procedures. The device is made of stainless steel or titanium, less often glass. Cartridge syringes are reusable, disinfecting before and after each client. The device consists of a cylindrical body, a sealed plug and several holders. It is held with three fingers in order to accurately and accurately control the introduction of the needle.
Syringe dart
It is used in veterinary medicine for the administration of drugs to animals. The cylinder is connected to a special gun, directed at the animal and a shot is fired, which delivers a needle with a medication to the body. A syringe gun works on a similar principle. A suitable syringe is connected to it, which is precisely fixed in the structure, and a shot is fired. The manufacturers claim that the manipulations are carried out so quickly and accurately that the patient does not feel pain at all.
Self-destructive syringe
A self-destructive or self-locking device is a modern version of a disposable syringe. They are designed to be non-reusable, which can reduce the risk of infection. Syringes were developed for large-scale and routine immunization programs for the population, but are still not widely used.
How to use a syringe correctly
The main aspect in the process of using medical instruments is sterility. They come into contact with blood, which means they can cause a rapid infection of the whole body. How can you avoid this? Make sure the packaging is intact before using the needle and disposable syringe. Some firms put special indicators on the container that show the degree of sterility of the instrument. Reusable syringes are used much less often in medical practice, but the process of sterilizing them is also important and necessary. The device is thoroughly boiled in, treated with special means, and the rules for storing medical equipment are followed.
Immediately before injection, the syringe barrel is placed in a container with a drug. The medical officer pulls the piston of the device towards himself, and then draws the required amount of medicine into the cylinder. It is important that there are no air bubbles in the collected preparation.
To do this, the device is directed upward with the needle, lightly pressed on the piston and the remaining air with a small part of the drug is “expelled” from it.
The injection site is wiped, after which the needle is inserted into a blood vessel, under the skin or inside the muscle, depending on the therapeutic goals. Then the nurse presses the plunger, moves the medication from the cylinder directly into the patient's body, gently removes the needle and once again processes the formed wound.
.Science degree: doctor of the highest category, candidate of medical sciences.
The name Hippocrates is associated with many discoveries in the field of medicine. Scientists believe that, in addition to other medical instruments, the famous physician also used a prototype of such a familiar and indispensable item today as a syringe. At the time, the syringe did not look like a modern plastic device. Then it was a hollow tube, to which the pig's bladder was attached.
As the centuries passed, doctors modernized syringes and changed their appearance. Brass syringe prototypes made in France in the 17th century have survived to this day. In 1648, the French scientist Blaise Pascal invented a structure consisting of a cylinder, piston and needle. But this device did not become popular among doctors and was forgotten.
Interestingly, a syringe like the one we use in modern life was invented in 1853 by two people independently of each other. At the same time, these people needed him for different purposes. The Scotsman Alexander Wood created a hypodermic syringe, and the Frenchman Charles Gabriel Provaz needed this instrument for surgical purposes.
What did a nineteenth century syringe look like? It was a cylinder made of rubber to which a hollow needle was attached. The syringe operated due to a piston with a metal pin, on which notches could be found. Using these notches, the doctor could track the dosage of the drug.
Glass syringes also appeared later. The French master glassblower Fournier designed the first glass syringe. This happened in 1894, and in 1906 the "Record" syringe appeared with a glass cylinder sealed in metal rings and a piston with rubber seals.
The idea to create a disposable syringe came to the head of a veterinarian. In 1956, twenty-seven-year-old pharmacist and veterinarian Colin Murdoch was on an airplane and thought that vaccination of animals could be made easier if the drug was sealed in a syringe beforehand. This is how the disposable injection tool came about. Merlock continued to refine his invention for several more years. The disposable syringe invented by him could be used not only in veterinary practice, but also in the treatment of people.
Since 1961, disposable syringes began to be produced on an industrial scale. Modern plastic syringes are sterile, lightweight, and inexpensive, each individually wrapped, do not break and do not require pretreatment.
Nowadays, the syringe is an indispensable medical tool, which is also used for various household purposes, but few people know what the story of this simple device is. The prototype of the syringe was created by the ancient Greek physician and philosopher Hippocrates, who lived in the 5th-4th century BC. Then the syringe was a hollow tube to which the pig's bladder was attached.
But centuries passed and syringes began to improve and change their shape.
Preserved brass syringes, which were made in France in the XVII century. In 1648, the French scientist Blaise Pascal made a syringe, which consisted of a cylinder, a piston and a needle, but the device did not spread among doctors and was soon forgotten.
Syringes similar to the ones we use today appeared in 1853. They were invented by two people separately from each other. The Scotsman Alexander Wood created a syringe for subcutaneous injections, and the Frenchman Charles Gabriel Provaz needed a syringe for surgical purposes. The syringes of the 19th century were made of rubber, and it was not until 1894 that the French master glassblower Fournier made the first glass syringe. In 1906, the Record syringe was created with a glass cylinder sealed in metal rings and a piston with rubber seals.
The idea of creating a disposable syringe belongs to pharmacist and veterinarian Colin Murdoch. In 1956, at the age of 27, he was vaccinating animals and suggested that the drug, previously sealed in syringes, would help speed up the vaccination process. This is how the first disposable syringe appeared. Murdoch continued to work on improving his device and disposable syringes began to be used for treating people. In 1961, disposable syringes began to be produced on an industrial scale.
