A syrette is a single-use device for injecting liquid through a needle. It is similar to a
syringe
A syringe is a simple reciprocating pump consisting of a plunger (though in modern syringes, it is actually a piston) that fits tightly within a cylindrical tube called a barrel. The plunger can be linearly pulled and pushed along the inside ...
except that it has a sealed
squeeze tube instead of a rigid tube and
piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder (engine), cylinder a ...
. It was developed by the
pharmaceutical manufacturer E.R. Squibb & Sons (eventually merged into the current day
Bristol-Myers Squibb
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, doing business as Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consist ...
) just prior to World War II (WWII).
In WWII, the
morphine
Morphine, formerly also called morphia, is an opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin produced by drying the latex of opium poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication). There are ...
syrette was included in first aid kits. It had a wire loop with a guard at the end of a hollow needle that was used to break a seal where the needle was attached to the tube. The wire loop was then removed and the needle was inserted under the skin at a shallow angle and the tube slowly squeezed from the sealed end (see
subcutaneous injection
Subcutaneous administration is the insertion of medications beneath the skin either by injection or infusion.
A subcutaneous injection is administered as a bolus (medicine), bolus into the subcutis, the layer of skin directly below the dermis and ...
).
After injection the used tube was often pinned to the receiving soldier's collar to inform others of the dose administered.
The syrette was adopted for use by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
in 1940.
The US military also distributed
atropine
Atropine is a tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic medication used to treat certain types of nerve agent and pesticide poisonings as well as some types of slow heart rate, and to decrease saliva production during surgery. It is typically give ...
in syrettes. Chemical treatment was subsequently distributed in
autoinjector
An autoinjector (or auto-injector) is a medical device for injection of a premeasured dose of a particular drug. Most autoinjectors are one-use, disposable, spring-loaded syringes (prefilled syringes). By design, autoinjectors are easy to use an ...
form.
See also
*
Uniject
References
External links
Museum of Drugs Morphine
Medical equipment
Drug delivery devices
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