University Health Network - Academy of Medicine Collection
Category
Diagnostic & Treatment Artifacts
Classification
General Treatment
Accession Number
002050004 a-d
Description
Enema syringe consists of a large pewter (a) barrel with a long curved (b) nozzle tip on one end and a wooden (c) plunger on the other end; plunger passes through the centre of (d) cap which screws onto the bottom of barrel.
Enema syringe consists of a large pewter (a) barrel with a long curved (b) nozzle tip on one end and a wooden (c) plunger on the other end; plunger passes through the centre of (d) cap which screws onto the bottom of barrel.
Number Of Parts
4
Part Names
a - barrel - Size: Length 24.5 cm x Diam 7.5 cm
b - nozzle tip - Size: Length 14.0 cm x Width 9.0 cm x Depth 3.6 cm
c - plunger - Size: Length 33.7 cm x Diam 4.0 cm
d - cap - Size: Length 4.7 cm x Diam 7.5 cm
Provenance
Originally belonged with Dr. Drake's collection of medical artefacts and ceramics; later bequested to Academy of Medicine
Date obtained from donor file and book on Dr. Drake's collection
Material
metal: silver
wood: brown
fibre: yellow
Inscriptions
Handwritten in pen on barrel, nozzle and wooden plunger: "DD 126"; Stamped into metal on barrel: "RA // M // P"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-E6-15
Condition Remarks
Metal is dented and chipped in a few areas; nozzle part is wrapped in metal wire at the point where it is bending; wooden plunger handle has cracked and part of it broken off; plunger shaft has several cracks running down length-wise; plunger head has detached from plunger shaft and is stuck inside the barrel; metal slightly tarnished.
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Book
JPG
Reference Comments
"Antique Medical Instruments", Ellisabeth Bennion, 1979, pp. 169-173.; "Nurturing Yesterday's Child: A Portrait of the Drake Collection of Paediatric History", Mary Spaulding and Penny Welch, 1994, pp. 1-3, 222-225.; "The Evolution of Surgical Instruments: An Illustrated History from Ancient Times to the Twentieth Century", John Kirkup MD, FRCS, 2005, pp. 228-230; CD #1.
Research Facts
Large enema syringes, also known as clysters, were popular around the 1800s, and reflected the then current belief in the benefits of purging the body on a regular basis. Doctors, apothecaries and individuals themselves could administer enema solutions via clyster syringes for the purposes of colonic irrigation. These clysters could have different nozzle attachments and hoses for an easier reach for the self-administering user. Clysters evolved to be smaller and sometimes more discrete as in the case of travelling clysters which were shaped to look like a book. This item was a part of a large collection of items belonging to Dr. Drake, a paediatrician and nutritionist who co-developed the Pablum cereal.