When was hypodermic needles invented

The first hypodermic needle was probably made by Francis Rynd in Dublin in , using the technology of annealing the edges of a folded flat strip of steel to make a tube.

This was then drawn through increasingly narrower dies whilst maintaining the patency of the needle. The bevelled point is cut and ground, and then the hub is added with its variety of fittings and locks. A syringe has three elements, the barrel glass, plastic or metal , the plunger and the piston which may be of rubber, mineral, metal or synthetic material but in early examples waxed linen tape or asbestos was wound on a reel to obtain a watertight seal.

Charles Pravaz, in France, administered coagulant to sheep in , but it seems that Alexander Wood in Edinburgh combined a functional syringe with a hypodermic needle in the same year, to inject morphine into humans and probably should be credited with inventing the technique.

The basic design has remained unchanged though interchangeable parts and the use of plastic resulted in the almost universal use of disposable syringes and needles since the mids. They are also required for catheter-introduced surgical procedures in deep anatomical locations. Figure 1 shows three generations of needles. The top left ones are single-use needles from the s with various lengths and gauges.

At the top right is small sample of needles of a currently used type, supplied in a patent wrapper in their individual protective sheathes, with colour coded plastic hubs. The internal point pierced the rubber bung on pre-dosed cartridges which could be inserted in the patent syringe. The range of needles is extensive. Each manufacturer produced a different shaped hub. The gauge and length of needles varies greatly according to their purpose. Figure 2 illustrates infusion needles in which the bulbous hub fits directly on to rubber tubing.

Pneumothorax needles are for withdrawing air from the pleural cavity. The side arm allows for the attachment of a suction bottle using a two-way tap.

The Hamilton Bailey type infusion canulae needles are eight from the early 20 th century, made of gold for sterility, with slots through which to thread a support tape. Before that in ancient Greece and Rome, physicians used thin hollow tools to inject fluids into the body.

In , a dog was given an intravenous injection via a goose quill by Christopher Wren. Sir Christopher Wren used a syringe made of animal bladder fixed to a goose quill to inject wine and opium into the veins of dogs. An Egyptian surgeon in the 9th century developed a syringe using a glass tube with applied suction. That one was good for enemas, sucking mucus out of the nostrils, that sort of thing. For the next years or so, this was about as good as humanity could get, and subcutaneous injections and blood transfusions were still more than half a century away.

To graduate from squishing fluids down tubes into and out of the body via orifices to injecting below the skin, humanity needed a tiny hollow needle. Sir Christopher Wren is credited with successfully injecting drugs into a dog in at Wadham College in Oxford in It was an Irishman, Francis Rynd who invented the first hollow needle in On May 18, , he injected Margaret Cox with painkillers.

It seems Rynd didn't have the right publicist. Although the exact date remains unknown, de Graaf developed a metal barreled syringe in the 17th century. He used it to trace the blood vessels of corpses, not the most glamorous work and possibly the reason his needle and syringe remained in the dark.

Both French and Scottish inventors were on the same trail at roughly the same time. This is common with many inventions throughout history.

They quietly sat in a file in an office somewhere in the country where the inventor filed them. But back to our heroes… As stated, need is and always was the mother of invention.

For this reason, the two inventors share the credit for using the first hollow needles on live human beings, going down as true innovators in the history of the hypodermic needle. Prior to that, one had to have someone help with administration. While, at the time, this was not greeted with rapturous applause she was a woman after all! In , two inventors who specialised in glass, the Chance Brothers in England, took the syringe one step closer to multi-use applications.

They invented an all-glass syringe with a removable barrel and plunger. Now, one could replace the parts of a syringe. This allowed medical facilities at the time a more financially viable method of using the technology.

Still, production and parts were not cheap. Humanity needed something more easily produced… something disposable, and the history of the hypodermic needle would not be what it is today without that most celebrated and maligned of inventions during the s—PLASTIC.

The invention and use of polymers have been one of the single biggest changes in medicine in the last years, especially with consumable medical supplies. The application to needles and syringes is one of the best examples of this, and the disposable plastic syringe was truly a gamechanger.

Skip list. Related articles. Read more. Captain Sanitiser on the road for Indigenous youth. A good night's sleep for the whole family A good nights sleep is important for the whole family.

The benefits of a connected workforce Employers of socially connected workplaces see higher levels of employee loyalty, engagement and productivity, research shows.

Subscribe to receive the best from Live Better every week. Healthy recipes, exercise tips and activities, offers and promotions — everything to help you eat, move and feel better. By clicking sign up I understand and agree to Medibank's privacy policy. Please enter a valid email address. Sign up. Thanks for subscribing.