Syrette

Instructions for using the Syrette from the FM-21-11 Basic Field Manual –First Aid for Soldiers, April 7th 1943

The Syrette is a device for injecting liquid through a needle. It is similar to a syringe except that it has a closed flexible tube (like that used for toothpaste) instead of a rigid tube and piston. It was developed by Squibb, now the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

The morphine syrette used in World War II had a wire loop pin with a guard in the end of the hollow needle that was used to break a seal where the needle was attached to the tube. It was similar to a Superglue tube. After breaking the seal the wire loop pin was removed and the hollow needle was inserted under the skin at a shallow angle and the tube flattened between the thumb and fingers. (See subcutaneous injection.) After injection the used tube was pinned to the receiving soldier's collar to inform others of the dose administered.

The US Military also distributed atropine in syrettes. Chemical treatment was subsequently distributed in Autoinjector form.

British syrette containing Omnopon. Circa 1990s

Diagram showing wire loop pin

Syrette of morphine from WWII. On display at the Army Medical Services Museum.

External links

• morphine syrette described at the "Saving Private Ryan" online encyclopedia