Wikinventia — Atlas of discoveries and inventions · Industrial Age

First documented hypodermic injection — Francis Rynd

1844 AD · Transmission: Silenced
MedicineMethodBritish

Francis Rynd, a physician at Dublin's Meath Hospital, performs in 1844 the first documented subcutaneous injection of dissolved morphine using a hollow needle by gravity, without a plunger. He publishes the procedure in the Dublin Medical Press (1845). Rynd's merit is the first documented clinical application of subcutaneous drug administration. Charles Pravaz (France, 1853) and Alexander Wood (Scotland, 1853) independently developed syringes with a plunger — the design that prevailed. The canon attributes the hypodermic syringe to Pravaz and Wood for its more functional design, silencing Rynd's clinical priority.

InstitutionMeath Hospital, Dublin
Historical regionIreland (present-day Republic of Ireland)
Primary sourceRynd, F. — "Neuralgia — introduction of fluid to the nerve" (Dublin Medical Press, 13 March 1845)
Secondary sourceDictionary of Irish Biography — Francis Rynd; Ask About Ireland — Irish Scientists: Francis Rynd
Original languageEnglish
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