Chapter One - My Family History: A Complicated Story
This chapter covers the early decades of the hypodermic syringe when, following the 1850s, injections became fashionable. Follow our dear friend Luer as he talks us through his story, the claims by ‘discoverers’ of ‘eureka moments’, and as he witnesses developments in medical science and practice.
Something to keep in mind throughout your tour:
– How do we talk about “discoverers” and inventors?
– How does change come about?
My Family
Here I lie in what might as well be my coffin. I am not yet dead! Merely forgotten amid old syringes and plastic descendants. A retirement home, and not a very comfortable one…
I was born, manufactured actually, around 1900. My family name is LUER. We are a large, multi-generation family including, I think, six generations after me. Here, look at me and my siblings in this trade catalogue. A family portrait ofrom the 1930s!
Powers & Anderson Surgical Instruments, Hospital Supplies Etc. Catalogue.
Syringes, DEMH Trust.
My father started life sometime during the 1860s. He was fitted with a threaded plunger (piston), but ultimately we Luers became all glass (unprotected by the metal casing typical of many competitors); plus we had an easily lockable needle attached firmly to the barrel.
In fact, our Luer lock became a part of various syringes produced by competitors.
Not everyone loved us...
The Luers have faced dozens of competitors. Patents galore were awarded for supposed improvements, for instance, to prevent leakage around the plunger. Some have seemingly left no trace that they were ever marketed, and are reminders of how entrepreneurship in technology characterises many medical developments.
Other syringes probably soon fell by the wayside. There were many gimmicks around. I saw one attached to a watch-chain, publicised as “an extremely neat and useful novelty.”
Fascinating, too, was this “self-acting syringe” (1870s); on pressing a lever, the needle penetrated the skin and the plunger plunged! Ouch.
The ‘RECORD’ syringe family is, perhaps, the best-known syringe name in the U.K.
Introduced in 1906, they became known for their smooth plunger action, no leakage around joints, easy to read graduation marks, and safe to sterilise.
I must not forget the Aristocrats and plastic imitators...
I always thought decorated syringe cases were for physicians who displayed their status.
Look at this one, with its engraved metal case… Can you imagine the person who carried this around?
Looking back, and hopefully, I am a good observer (after all I was like a prop in a theatre performance). I now muse over the ways doctors displayed their authority. For instance, wearing elegant morning suits to meet patients. I don’t know about showing authority nowadays – I haven’t been around many doctors lately… What do you think?
However I must say, we early Luers feel like aristocrats compared with some of our offspring. The plastic versions – some disposable – were coming into general use by 1960. So lifeless some of them seem… no great distinctions to make them unique!
But I have to admit there was a good reason why disposable ones became increasingly popular, namely to combat cross-infections that had been increasingly seen during World War II.
Hypodermic syringe with spare needle and decorated metal case. Mid-late 19th century. Science Museum, London.
Syringes. Adrian Wressell, Heart of England NHS FT. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Nor do I know my Ancestors...
I’m not sure who should be at the top of our hypodermic family tree. Countless people have debated over who first ‘discovered’ hypodermic injections.
My father believed the Edinburgh physician Alexander Wood should be the head of our family, for he is commonly credited as the ‘discoverer’. In 1855 he described injecting morphine under the skin at the site of pain (we now call this local analgesia) to help with nerve pain.
Early syringes were difficult to manipulate. Alexander Wood likely experimented with many… In particular he noted one with a sharp trocar on the end, which fitted inside a hollow ‘needle’. Once the trocar and needle penetrated the skin, the trocar was withdrawn and the syringe attached to the needle.
He also modified another syringe, manufactured by Ferguson, that already used a trocar. Have a look below at a reconstruction of a Wood’s early syringe: barrel and plunger, without needle.
Wood did claim he recognised pain relief could occur at a distance. My father, however, remembers that a Charles Hunter was praised for this notion in 1860s. I think Hunter certainly started debates on whether pain relief was ever as effective as when administered to the site of the pain. He also widened our use of other medications for pain relief besides morphine.
Alexander Wood. National Institutes of Health, Public Domain.
Alexander Wood’s Hypodermic syringe, 19th century. Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Find Us...
We are based at Exeter Community Centre in Exeter, where we have a storeroom and workroom.
The nearest car park is Mary Arches Street, which is a five-minute walk.
Exeter Central train station is a ten-minute walk.
The bus station is a 15-minute walk with many buses stopping on the High Street which is ten minutes away.