The hypodermic syringe has been called the greatest medical invention of all time. The syringe is used as the primary delivery vehicle for countless drugs, vaccines and medication and is of paramount importance as a medical device.
This is because medicines that are injected straight into the blood act faster than those which have to be swallowed and digested first.
The first person to administer an intravenous injection was Christopher Wren in 1656. He made a makeshift syringe using a goose quill as the needle and an animal bladder as the syringe. He used this to administer alcohol to dogs. The hollow metal needle was invented in 1844 by Irish physician Francis Rynd.
The first model of a hypodermic syringe was invented in 1853 by Scottish physician Alexander Wood and a French veterinary surgeon Charles Gabriel Pravaz. It consisted of a hollow needle and a metal barrel and was used to inject morphine. In 1866, the metal barrel was replaced by a glass barrel so that the quantity of medication inside would be visible.
The disposable syringe was developed in 1954 and mass production began in 1956 to deliver the polio vaccine. Today hypodermic syringes come in every shape and size and are used to withdraw blood, inject vaccines, administer drugs like insulin and deliver saline drips and blood.
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