Syringe (its name comes from the German spritzen - spray) - the name of the tool used in technology, cooking and medicine for the introduction and removal of various liquids or gases using piston pressure.
Medical syringes - instruments used for injection, diagnostic puncture or aspiration of pathological contents from the cavities of the human body. The principle of its operation is that when the piston rises and the needle is placed in any vessel with liquid, a vacuum is created between the surface and the tool. Since atmospheric pressure acts on the liquid in the vessel, it rises into its cavity.
Basically, a syringe is nothing more than a hollow graduated cylinder with an open end (into which a piston with a rod is inserted) and with a cone at the other end (to which the needle is attached). Modern disposable syringes are almost completely made of plastic, while some reusable syringes are made of metal.
Types of syringes and needles are distinguished depending on their size, purpose, design and the number of possible uses.
Let's start with the classification of tools according to their design.
Distinguish between two-component and three-component syringes. What is their difference? The two-component design we have already described above - they consist only of a cylinder and a piston. In the three-component to these two parts, a third is also added - the plunger.
Let us explain what it is and what it is for. A couple of decades ago, doctors noticed that the pain in the injection depends not only on how sharp the needle is in the syringe, but also on the smooth movement of the piston in it. The thing is that the nurse, making an injection, makes significant efforts to "push" the piston inside the cylinder. Because of this, the entire syringe moves, and the needle located in human tissues, too. Actually, this is the cause of the pain.
Now we go directly to the plunger. This is a common rubber seal that is attached to the piston for smoother advancement along the barrel of the syringe. Thus, the person making the injection presses the syringe with less force and the painful sensations almost disappear.
Both species are currently used in medicine.
Consider also the classification of syringes by the number of uses. As you know, on this basis they are divided into disposable and reusable.
Disposable syringes (SHOP - disposable syringes)
Widespread in the early 80s. They are almost completely made of plastic, with the exception of the needle - it is made of stainless steel. For a single administration of drugs, a syringe tube (or siretta) is sometimes also used.
Most often, medical disposable syringes are types of syringes for injection. Let's take a closer look at them.
Conventional Disposable Syringe
Conventional disposable syringes (species, the sizes of which we will consider later) are usually used for the introduction of various injections. Its operating principle and structure are already described above.
There are types of disposable syringes with the following volumes: 2 ml, 3 ml, 5 ml, 10 ml, 20 ml and 50 ml. Some non-standard types are also distinguished, for example, a small insulin syringe or a Janet syringe with a volume of 150 ml.
Insulin syringes
These are the types of syringes used to administer insulin to the patient. The volume of such a syringe is 1 ml. He has a thin and fairly short needle, which makes the administration of the drug painless. Due to the fact that this medicine is almost always independently administered by patients, this fact is very important.
All types of insulin syringes are marked not only in milliliters, but also in units (units by which the dosage of insulin is made). In all preparations that exist today, 1 ml contains 100 PIECES - neither more nor less.
These syringes also have a special piston shape that provides maximum accuracy when administering the drug. A standard insulin syringe has a marking in increments of 1 unit, a children's syringe - 0.5 or 0.25 units.
Previously, syringes with a size of 40 PIECES were also used, but at the moment they are practically out of use.
A syringe pen is also often used to administer insulin, since it is easier to do with it. More details on these types of syringes will be considered later.
Despite the fact that the insulin syringe is considered disposable, it can be used several times until the needle is loose.
Syringe Janet
Of all types of medical syringes, this is the largest. Its capacity is 150 ml. The Janet syringe is most often used to rinse the cavities of the human body or aspirate fluids, but it can also be used for other purposes. For example, sometimes it is used when setting enemas. It can be used for intraperitoneal, intravenous or intratracheal infusions, for which a regular syringe will be small.
If you watched “The Caucasian Captive”, you should remember the scene in which Byvalu was given an intramuscular injection with sleeping pills using the same Janet syringe. You need to understand that this is just a film, and in real life, the Janet syringe is not used for such purposes.
Self-locking syringes
Types of disposable syringes, which were designed specifically for regular large-scale programs of immunization of the population or for any other injections in large volumes.
Their peculiarity is that the reuse of such a syringe is impossible and mechanically excluded. They are so designed that after the first use the piston is blocked, and the syringe can only be thrown out. This is their main advantage over all other disposable species, which in fact can be used more than once.
Syringe tube
Medical syringes intended for single administration of a drug. Similar varieties are usually found in the first-aid kit of each paramedic. They are completely sterile and already contain the right dose of medication in an airtight vessel.
Types of syringes, the photos of which you will find under the description, do not end with disposable syringes.
Now consider reusable models and their varieties.
Reusable syringes
It seemed that in the modern world there is simply no place for such unreliable things as reusable syringes. But no, some of their species are often used and completely safe.
Common Reusable Syringes
The first reusable glass syringes appeared back in 1857 and they looked almost the same as modern ones. The idea of creating a glass syringe belongs to glassblower Fournier. At the end of the 19th century, one French company bought his idea and immediately introduced glass syringes into practice. From that moment on, refillable syringes became the property of mankind. Even then they were made in various sizes, from 2 to 100 ml. The syringe of that time had a graduated glass cylinder ending with a cone. There was a piston inside the cylinder. This design was sterilized by boiling. The glass was thermally resistant and withstood temperatures up to 200 degrees.
To replace such a model in 1906 came a syringe of the “Record” type, which had a metal needle, a glass cylinder sealed in metal rings on both sides, and a metal piston with rubber rings for sealing.
Sterilized syringes were usually stored in thick brown paper. It was called "craft package." Reusable needles were included with the syringe. During the use of these tools, the injection procedure was really very painful, since reusable needles very quickly blunted due to repeated boiling. Before the process itself, the syringes were cleaned with a special wire - “mandrae”. In pharmacies of that time, they sold special containers for storing tools.
Perhaps you should not talk about the possibility of transmitting various infections with the help of such syringes.
Fortunately, such designs are no longer in use today. The following types of reusable syringes of our generation include:
Syringe pen
This type of syringe has already been mentioned in the article. With it, people with diabetes inject insulin into the body.
This syringe got its name because of the apparent similarity with a fountain pen. It consists of several parts: the body itself, the cartridge (or sleeve, cartridge) with a dose of insulin, a removable needle, which is worn on the tip of the cartridge, the mechanism of the piston, case and cap.
Just like an insulin syringe, the pen has a very thin needle for a less painful procedure. With this device, the procedures become almost invisible, which means a lot to people who inject several times a day.
The difference between this device and an insulin syringe is to reduce the complexity of the operation and greater convenience.
The dosing mechanism of the pen syringe accurately allows you to enter the desired dose of medication. It is advisable to reload the cartridge once every few days. It takes only a few seconds to change the sleeve with insulin.
Some pen syringe models have a removable needle, in which case, it must be changed at least once a week. In models where the needle cannot be replaced, it must be sterilized.
Syringe pen is widespread throughout the world.
Carpule syringes
Despite the fact that disposable syringe syringes are used more and more often in modern medicine, we nevertheless assigned them to the “reusable” section.
Karpulny syringe is an injection syringe and is mainly used in dentistry. Yes, yes, it is with the help of this metal device with an ampoule and a tiny needle that we are given anesthesia for dental treatment.
Sometimes it is also used to administer other drugs.
In 2010, the company "AERS-MED" patented the first disposable karpulny syringes. Every year they only gain popularity, gradually crowding out their predecessors.
Syringe gun
A miracle device for those who are afraid of injections like fire. He is also called a Kalashnikov syringe, but not because of the similarity with the same machine gun, but because of the name of the person who invented it. The whole mechanism was invented for quick and painless administration of the drug and is designed for independent use. Everything is very simple: install a 5 ml syringe (pre-filled with medicine) in the design, bring it to the skin and pull the trigger.
It is very important that the volume of the syringe used is exactly 5 ml, then it will hold tight and will not drop out during the process.
The inventor indicates that his mechanism makes the procedure painless and absolutely safe, that is, the needle will hit exactly the target and will not harm anything.
Dart syringe
Types of syringes that are most often used in veterinary medicine. With their help, sick animals are injected with anesthetics or any medications.
Also, this type of syringe is used during hunting for wild animals, or when a large beast needs to be euthanized for a while.
There are special veterinary guns, instead of cartridges they shoot such darts with sleeping pills.
Syringes: types, length of syringe needles
As you already understood, this article is not only about syringes. The types of syringes and needles for them are closely interrelated. There are two types of medical needles - injection and surgical. We are only interested in the first ones intended for the introduction or removal of any liquid into / from the body (a). They are hollow inside, and their most important property is absolute sterility.
Hollow needles are classified by type of tip and by caliber. There are 5 main types of spikes: AS, 2, 3, 4, 5. We will not consider each separately, we will only clarify that type 4 needles with a spiked tip 10-12 degrees are most often used in medicine. 23 types of needles are distinguished by caliber, from 33 gauge to 10 gauge. In medicine, anyone can be used.
Below is a small compatibility table. Syringes (species by volume) are indicated in the left column, and the corresponding needles for them are indicated in the right.
Syringe Capacity | Matching needle |
Insulin, 1 ml | 10 x 0.45 or 0.40 mm |
2 ml | 30 x 0.6 mm |
3 ml | 30 x 06 mm |
5 ml | 40 x 0.7 mm |
10 ml | 40 x 0.8 mm |
20 ml | 40 x 0.8 mm |
50 ml | 40 x 1.2 mm |
Syringe Janet, 150 ml | 400 x 1.2 mm |
We examined the medical syringes and needles that are used with them. Without a doubt, other types of tools can also be devoted to an entire article, but in this we will not focus on them.