Scottish physician Alexander Wood introduced the hypodermic syringe in 1853.
Credit for the evolution of
this universally useful appliance is usually given to Doctor Alexander Wood
(born 1817), who was appointed Secretary of the Royal College of Physicians
of Edinburgh in 1850. For some time, Doctor Wood had been experimenting with
a hollow needle for the administration of drugs. Eventually, he felt
confident enough to publish in "The Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Review" a
short paper - 'A New Method of treating Neuralgia by the direct application
of Opiates to the Painful Points' - in which he showed that the method was
not necessarily limited to the administration of opiates. |