The Keidel vacuum tube was a type of

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

collecting device, first manufactured by Hynson, Wescott and Dunning in around 1922.Pendergraph, Garland E. (1998) ''Handbook of Phlebotomy and Patient Service Techniques'' 4th ed. Williams & Wilkins. This vacuum was one of the first evacuated systems, predating the more well known

Vacutainer A vacutainer blood collection tube is a sterile glass or plastic test tube with a colored rubber stopper creating a vacuum seal inside of the tube, facilitating the drawing of a predetermined volume of liquid. Vacutainer tubes may contain addit ...

. Its primary use was to test for

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...

and

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

.Greene, Charles Lyman (1917) ''Medical Diagnosis for the Student and Practitioner''. P Blakiston's & Son __TOC__

Process

Essentially, the Keidel vacuum consists of a sealed

ampule An ampoule (also ampul and ampule) is a small sealed vial which is used to contain and preserve a sample, usually a solid or liquid. Ampoules are usually made of glass. Modern ampoules are most commonly used to contain pharmaceuticals and chem ...

with or without a

culture medium A growth medium or culture medium is a solid, liquid, or semi-solid designed to support the growth of a population of microorganisms or cells via the process of cell proliferation or small plants like the moss ''Physcomitrella patens''. Differe ...

. Connected to the ampule was a short rubber tube with a needle at the end, using a small glass tube as a cap. The insertion of the needle into the

vein Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated b ...

crushes the ampule, thus creating a vacuum and forcing blood into the container. Typically, a prominent vein in the forearm such as the

median cubital vein In human anatomy, the median cubital vein (or median basilic vein) is a superficial vein of the upper limb. It lies in the cubital fossa superficial to the bicipital aponeurosis. It connects the cephalic vein and the basilic vein. It becomes promi ...

would suffice, although the Keidel vacuum can take blood for any prominent peripheral vein. This concept did not become popular until during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when quick and efficient first aid care was necessary in the battle field. As a result, the vacutainer became the forefront device used for blood collection.

References

{{reflist, 1 History of medicine Blood tests Hematology

Process

See also

References