Historical information

Charles Gabriel Pravaz (1791-1853) was a French orthopedic surgeon and inventor of the hypodermic syringe. In 1844, Irish physician Francis Rynd (1811-1861) invented the hollow needle. In 1853, French physician Charles Pravaz developed the first practical metal syringe. Pravaz added a fine, hollow needle to the end of his syringe instead of the tube. This was an important innovation. Yet in the pre-antiseptic era it was a mixed blessing. The use of injections rather than oral drug administration can more readily promote the spread of disease as well as facilitating its cure. An understanding of the germ theory of disease - and the cardinal importance of using sterile needles - awaited the discoveries of Lister, Pasteur and Koch. But intravenous injection allows extremely rapid pain-relief - and the induction of general anaesthesia when suitable agents were developed.

Physical description

Small ornate metal syringe with raised ridge at either end and in the middle. Tapers to a point at the distal end with pencil like extrusion. Finger ring at the proximal end.