A syringe (its name comes from the German spritzen - to splash) is the name of an instrument used in engineering, cooking and medicine for the introduction and removal of various liquids or gases using piston pressure.
Medical syringes are instruments used for injections, diagnostic punctures or suction 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 the liquid in the vessel is affected by atmospheric pressure, it rises into its cavity.
Basically, a syringe is nothing more than a hollow graduated cylinder with an open end (into which the plunger and rod are inserted) and a cone at the other end (to which the needle is attached). Modern disposable syringes are almost entirely 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 number of possible uses.
Start with classificationtools by their design.
Distinguish two-component and three-component syringes. What is their difference? We have already described the design of the two-component ones above - they consist only of a cylinder and a piston. In three-component, to these two parts, a third is added - a plunger.
Let's explain what it is and what it is for. A couple of decades ago, doctors noticed that the pain of an 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, when giving an injection, makes a noticeable effort to "push" the piston inside the cylinder. Because of this, the entire syringe moves, and the needle, which is in human tissues, too. Actually, this is the cause of the pain.
Now let's go directly to the plunger. This is a regular rubber seal that is attached to the piston to make it move more smoothly along the syringe barrel. Thus, the person giving the injection with less force presses on the syringe and the pain almost disappears.
Currently, both species are used in medicine.
Let's also consider 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 - single use syringes)
Became widespread in the early 80s. They are almost entirely made of plastic, with the exception of the needle, which is made of stainless steel. For a single injection of drugs, a syringe tube (or siretta) is sometimes also used.
Most oftenmedical disposable syringes are types of injection syringes. Let's take a closer look at them.
Regular disposable syringe
Regular disposable syringes (types of which we will look at sizes later) are commonly used for various injections. Its principle of operation and structure have already been 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. There are also some non-standard types, 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 inject insulin into the patient's body. The volume of such a syringe is 1 ml. It has a thin and rather short needle, which makes the administration of the drug painless. Due to the fact that this medicine is almost always self-administered by patients, this fact is very important.
All types of insulin syringes are labeled not only in milliliters, but also in units (units used to dose insulin). In all preparations that exist today, 1 ml contains 100 IU - no more, no less.
These syringes also have a special plunger shape that provides maximum precision when injecting medication. A standard insulin syringe is marked in increments of 1 unit, a children's syringe is 0.5 or 0.25 units.
Previously, 40-unit syringes were also used, but at the moment they are almost out of use.
To administer insulin, a syringe pen is also often used, since it is easier to do this with its help. More details about these typessyringes will be discussed later.
Despite the fact that the insulin syringe is considered disposable, it can be used several times until the needle wears out.
Syringe Janet
Of all types of medical syringes, this one is the largest. Its capacity is 150 ml. Janet's syringe is most often used for washing the cavities of the human body or suctioning fluids, but it can also be used for off-label purposes. For example, sometimes it is used when setting enemas. Can be used for intra-abdominal, intravenous or intratracheal infusions, for which a conventional syringe would be too small.
If you watched the "Prisoner of the Caucasus", you must remember the scene in which Experienced is given an intramuscular injection with sleeping pills using the same syringe for Janet. It must be understood that this is just a movie, and in real life, Janet's syringe is not used for such purposes.
Self-locking syringes
Types of disposable syringes that were designed specifically for regular large-scale immunization programs of the population or for any other injections in large volumes.
Their feature is that the reuse of such a syringe is impossible and excluded mechanically. They are designed in such a way that after the first use, the piston is blocked, and the syringe can only be thrown away. This is their main advantage over all other disposable types, which can actually be used more than once.
Syringe tube
Medical syringes,intended for single administration of any drug. Similar varieties are usually found in the first aid kit of every paramedic. They are completely sterile and already contain the required dose of medicine in a sealed container.
The 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 variations.
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 them are often used and completely safe.
Regular 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 the glass blower Fournier. At the end of the 19th century, a French company bought his idea and immediately put glass syringes into practice. It was from that moment that reusable one-piece 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 in a cone. Inside the cylinder was a piston. This design was sterilized by boiling. The glass was thermally resistant and could withstand temperatures up to 200 degrees.
In 1906, this model was replaced by a syringe of the Record type, which had a metal needle, a glass cylinder embedded on both sides in metal rings, and a metal piston with rubber rings forseals.
Sterilized syringes were usually stored in thick brown paper. It was called "kraftpack". Reusable needles were included with the syringe. At the time when these instruments were used, the injection procedure was indeed very painful, as reusable needles became blunt very quickly due to repeated boiling. Before the process itself, the syringes were cleaned with a special wire - a mandrin. Pharmacies of that time sold special containers designed to store tools.
Probably, we should not talk about the possibility of transmitting various infections with the help of such syringes.
Fortunately, today such constructions are no longer used. Our generation of reusable syringes include:
Syringe pen
This type of syringe has already been mentioned in the article. It is used by people with diabetes to inject insulin into the body.
This syringe got its name because of its apparent resemblance to a fountain pen. It consists of several parts: the body itself, a cartridge (or sleeve, cartridge) with a dose of insulin, a removable needle that is put on the tip of the cartridge, a piston actuation mechanism, a case and a cap.
Just like the 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 for people who inject several times a day.
The difference between this device and the insulin syringe is the reductionthe complexity of the operation and greater convenience.
The dosing mechanism of the syringe pen accurately allows you to enter the desired dose of medication. It is advisable to recharge the cartridge every few days. It only takes a few seconds to change your insulin sleeve.
Some models of the syringe pen 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.
The pen is widely used all over the world.
Carpool syringes
Despite the fact that modern medicine is increasingly using disposable cartridge syringes, we still classified them as “reusable”.
Carpool syringe refers to injection and is mainly used in dentistry. Yes, yes, it is with the help of this metal device with an ampoule and a thin needle that we are given anesthesia during dental treatment.
Sometimes it is also used to administer other drugs.
In 2010, AERS-MED patented the first disposable cartridge 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. It is also called the 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 is designed for quick and painless drug administration and is designedfor independent use. Everything is very simple: install a 5 ml syringe (pre-filled with medicine) into 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 tightly and will not fall out during the process.
The inventor indicates that his mechanism makes the procedure painless and absolutely safe, that is, the needle will hit the target exactly and will not hurt anything.
Dart Syringe
Types of syringes most commonly used in veterinary medicine. With their help, anesthetics or any medications are injected into sick animals.
Also, this type of syringe is used when hunting wild animals, or when a large animal 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 needles for syringes
As you already understood, this article is not only about syringes. Types of syringes and needles for them are closely related. There are two types of medical needles - injection and surgical. We are only interested in the first, intended for the introduction or removal of any fluid in / out of the body (a). They are hollow inside, and their most important property is absolute sterility.
Hollow needles are classified according to the type of point and caliber. There are 5 main types of points: AS, 2, 3, 4, 5. We will not consider each separately, we will only clarify that type 4 needles are most often used in medicine, withbeveled at 10-12 degrees with a tip. According to the caliber, 23 types of needles are distinguished, from the 33rd caliber to the 10th. In medicine, anyone can be used.
Below is a small compatibility table. Syringes (types by volume) are listed in the left column and their respective needles in the right column.
| Volume of syringe used | A matching needle |
| Insulin, 1 ml | 10 x 0.45 or 0.40mm |
| 2ml | 30 x 0.6mm |
| 3ml | 30 x 06mm |
| 5ml | 40 x 0.7mm |
| 10ml | 40 x 0.8mm |
| 20ml | 40 x 0.8mm |
| 50ml | 40 x 1.2mm |
| Janet syringe, 150 ml | 400 x 1.2mm |
We examined medical syringes and needles that are used with them. Without a doubt, other types of tools can also be given an entire article, but we will not focus on them in this one.
