A plastic syringe is a cylindrical tool used for many purposes, from medicine to mechanics, to arts, crafts and refilling inkjet printer cartridges. A plastic syringe delivers small amounts of liquid through a needle, tube, or just through the hole in the bottom of the syringe. A plastic syringe has a plunger with a rubber seal, so no liquid comes out the top of the syringe. Outside of a medical application, a plastic syringe can typically be used repeatedly. The plastic used in a plastic syringe does not generally react to materials placed inside it, making them ideal drug and chemical delivery systems for many applications.
The first hypodermic syringe with a skin-piercing needle was invented simultaneously in Scotland and France in the early 1850s as a way to inject pain-killing opiates into joints. Following the first polio epidemic in the 1950s, the disposable syringe became widely used to prevent contamination from using syringes more than once. Roehr Products manufactured the first disposable plastic syringe, the Monojet.
The most common use of syringes is in the medical field where they are used to administer shots and injections for humans and animals. These syringes are almost always thrown into hazardous waste containers after use, and they may be incinerated to prevent others from coming into contact with dangerous medicines and contaminated needles. A plastic syringe is one of the fastest ways to administer life saving drugs and vaccinations to a patient.
Medical syringes are filled by plunging the needle into a small jar of medicine, then raising the plunger on the end of the syringe to suck up the liquid. These syringes typically come with measurements clearly marked to make sure the patient receives the proper dosage. Medical syringes are used only once to help prevent the spread of infection and disease.
Outside of medicine, a plastic syringe can be used with or without the needle to spread minute amounts of glue, paint or other liquids when working on arts and crafts projects. When the plunger is depressed, the liquid inside comes out under some pressure, which can be regulated by how hard the plunger is depressed. Syringes are commonly used in laboratories, kitchens and arts and crafts classes.
People can also fill syringes with ink to refill their printer inkjet cartridges in the same way that the syringes are filled in medicine. The plunger rests at the bottom of the syringe, and the needle inserted into a container that contains the ink. As the plunger is pulled up, it fills the cylinder with ink, which can then be transferred to the inkjet cartridge.