The history of the hypodermic syringe

Friday, May 29, 2020

The history of the hypodermic syringe

The history of the hypodermic syringe

The thought of having an injection is enough to make many adults and children panic. Needle-phobic individuals should be happy they're not living in ancient times. The Greek word "syrinx," meaning "tube," is the basis for the word syringe. The first syringe was exactly that: a medication-filled tube that was inserted into a cut. It was many centuries later, in the 900s, that Ammar ibn Ali al-Mawsili used the first hypodermic-like tool to remove cataracts via suction.

Early syringes and needles were used to remove fluids from patients. In 1796, things began to change. Edward Jenner, noting that people who came down with cowbox displayed immunity to smallpox, developed a vaccine for the dreaded disease. (The word comes from vacca, Latin for cow.) Even though it was administered through a cut, and not technically an injection, Jenner's discovery revolutionized the practice of medicine.

It wasn't until the 1830s that physicians began to think of syringes as a means of injecting medications into people. Francis Rynd, an Irish doctor, created a hollow needle in 1844. Nine years later, another milestone was reached when Dr. Alexander Woods in Edinburgh and Dr. Charles Gabriel Pravaz of Lyon, France, almost simultaneously developed a hollow-needle syringe. The former used his to administer pain medication while the latter employed the device in aneurism treatment. Fortunately for dental patients, the syringe was in use in dentistry by the end of the 1800s.

Reference: http://www.bulksyringes.com/the-history-of-the-syringe-from-glass-tubes-to-microneedles/