University Health Network - Academy of Medicine Collection
Category
Diagnostic & Treatment Artifacts
Classification
General Treatment
Accession Number
002050005 a-d
Description
Enema syringe consists of large cylindrical pewter (a) barrel with ribbing; top has a (b) screw-on cap with an opening for a potential nozzle or hose addition; wooden (c) plunger handle extends from bottom; handle is hollow on the inside and has threading with a missing cap; plunger handle passes t…
Enema syringe consists of large cylindrical pewter (a) barrel with ribbing; top has a (b) screw-on cap with an opening for a potential nozzle or hose addition; wooden (c) plunger handle extends from bottom; handle is hollow on the inside and has threading with a missing cap; plunger handle passes through centre of metal (d) cap which screws into bottom of barrel.
Number Of Parts
4
Part Names
a - barrel - Size: Length 23.5 cm x Diam 7.5 cm
b - cap for nozzle - Size: Length 3.0 cm x Diam 4.0 cm
c - plunger - Size: Length 29.0 cm x Diam 5.7 cm
d - bottom cap - Size: Length 3.3 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 taken from donor file and book on Dr. Drake's collection
Material
metal: silver
wood: brown
rubber: brown
Inscriptions
Handwritten in pen on barrel and plunger: "DD127"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-E6-15
Condition Remarks
Metal tarnished and scratched with minor dents; rubber disk disintegrating around nozzle area; plunger difficult to remove from barrel; plunger handle missing cap; threading exposed and chipped.
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Book
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
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.