Hotel Dieu Hospital Dept. of Anaesthesia, Kingston Collection
Category
Diagnostic & Treatment Artifacts
Classification
Respirology
Accession Number
997008040 a-b
Description
Aspirator and collecting jar, which consists of (a) a hollow cylindrical glass jar with a narrow mouth and screw threads at the lip which allow the attachment of (b) the aspirator; the aspirator has a flat round metal top which covers the opening of the glass jar and seals on with a rubber ring; th…
Aspirator and collecting jar, which consists of (a) a hollow cylindrical glass jar with a narrow mouth and screw threads at the lip which allow the attachment of (b) the aspirator; the aspirator has a flat round metal top which covers the opening of the glass jar and seals on with a rubber ring; there is a screw-on plastic piece which holds the lid onto the jar; on the left side of the aspirator is a cylindrical hollow metal tube which goes through the lid down into the jar; the top of the tube is bent at a 45 deg angle to the left; the centre of the lid has a suction tube through it; the top has a threaded knob; the part inside the jar has a hollow cylindrical metal attachment which ends with a piece of plastic; a ping-pong ball fits tightly against this plastic piece and can seal off the tube; there are three metal braces which support the ping-pong ball but also allow it to move up and down.
Number Of Parts
2
Part Names
a - collecting jar - Size: Length 20.0 cm. x Diameter12.1 cm.
b - aspirator - Size: Length 18.4 cm. x Width 10.8 cm. x Depth 7.8 cm.
Provenance
Purchased by and used at the Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
(a) The outside front of the jar is marked in ml. increments from 200 to 1200 and reads, "melco med by // FOREGGER // THIS IS A COLLECTING BOTTLE // FOR SURGICAL DRAINAGE AND // ASPIRATION. MEASUREMENTS IN- // DICATED ARE ONLY APPROXIMATE. // THE FOREGGER COMPANY INC. // SMITHTOWN N.Y. 11787 // 6-900-134 (673)"; the outside bottom of the jar has raised numbering in the glass which reads, "14 I [inside a circle] 4 // 4"; (b) the top knob has the word "SUCTION . M-663B" stamped into the bottom edges; the ping-pong ball reads, "0212 // JELINER // CZECHOSLOVAKIA"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007-H1-2
Condition Remarks
The aspirator jar arrived very dirty and dusty; the metal suction tube has been damaged at the top and is dented; the chrome has also been damaged at this spot, and the copper underneath is visible; the metal shows no corrosion; plastic and rubber parts are complete and undamaged
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Person
Book
Document
Reference Comments
Dr. Ray Matthews; similar to aspirator jar illustrated in Canadian Heidbrink catalogue, p. 25 (see attached photocopy); "Blakiston's Illustrated Pocket Medical Dictionary", edited by Normand L. Hoerr, M.D. and Arthur Osol, Ph.D., 1952, p. 74
Research Facts
An aspirator is a negative pressure apparatus for withdrawing liquids from cavities; the suction tube was hooked up to a suction machine; when negative pressure was created, then fluid could be sucked in via the hollow tube with a rubber hose attachment; the bent metal tube would have led to the patient via a rubber tube; the ping-pong ball was used to stop aspiration when the collecting jar was full; the ball would rise with the collected liquid and seal up the top and discontinue the negative pressure within the jar