Sphygmomanometer set in case, consisting of (a) a case, (b) the sphygmomanometer, (c) the sphygmomanometer bulb, (d) a cuff and (e) a silk handkerchief; the case is a rectangular-shaped, wooden cloth-covered box that has an upper lid attached with two metal hinges at the back and two hooks at the f…
Sphygmomanometer set in case, consisting of (a) a case, (b) the sphygmomanometer, (c) the sphygmomanometer bulb, (d) a cuff and (e) a silk handkerchief; the case is a rectangular-shaped, wooden cloth-covered box that has an upper lid attached with two metal hinges at the back and two hooks at the front; the inside bottom of the case has five inset flat wooden pieces, two with clasps (and two metal brackets), which hold the case contents securely in place; the outside front of the case has an attached leather strap handle; the sphygmomanometer consists of glass tubing attached to a flat piece of wood; one tube at the right is mercury-filled and has a hollow spherical top piece that tapers to hollow cylindrical tubing that bends slightly to the left, then is straight until the bottom; at the bottom, the tubing curves back upwards in a hairpin turn (or U-shaped) and is straight back about halfway up the tube, then bends to the right at a 90° angle and flares out to create another hollow spherical piece; this piece tapers down at the other side to form a short, cylindrical outer end; a length of hollow cylindrical rubber tubing is attached to this end; the rubber tubing is cut at the centre and separated by a metal piece; this metal piece is made of T-shaped hollow metal tubing, with the rubber hosing attached to both ends of the top of the T-shape; the bottom of the T-shape tapers down to a blunt point with a small round opening; one side of the vertical part of the T-shape has a side valve with a flat, round adjustment knob; the distal end of the rubber tubing is attached to a small hollow glass tube that has bulbous outer ends; the other glass tube attached to the wooden backing at the left is also cylindrical and has a hand-painted incremental scale at the front; the top of this tube is rounded; the bottom of this tube curves forwards at a 90° angle and has a flat, round end; the bottom of the wooden base fits between and into the two metal brackets attached to the central inner back area of the case bottom; the set also contains (c) a sphygmomanometer bulb; this consists of a hollow black rubber lemon-shaped bulb with a round metal piece set into one end and an airflow control attached to the other end; the airflow control consists of a short length of hollow cylindrical metal with a round control knob at the outer top; a length of hollow rubber tubing is attached at the other end of the airflow control and has a piece of string around the tubing at this end to hold the tubing on more securely; the other end of the rubber tubing has an attached length of hollow cylindrical glass tubing, the outer tip of which is open and tapers slightly; the set also contains (d) a cuff; the cuff is rectangular in shape with rounded corners; the bottom half of the cuff is made of green cloth and the top half is plasticized cloth; the inside of the cuff contains disintegrated rubber; a short length of hollow cylindrical rubber tubing comes out from the top of the cuff at the centre; there are two cloth straps attached at one side that run through loops attached at the centre; the straps can be adjusted and held tight with metal buckles; the set also contains (e) a silk handkerchief; this is square with straight, finished edges and a rounded embroidered design in one corner.
Number Of Parts
5
Part Names
a - case - Size: Length 41.1 cm x Width 16.1 cm x Depth 7.5 cm
b - sphygmomanometer - Size: Length 36.5 cm x Width 14.2 cm x Depth 2.4 cm
c - bulb - Size: Length 23.9 cm x Diam. 3.9 cm
d - cuff - Size: Length 36.5 cm x Width 13.4 cm x Depth 5.0 cm
e - handkerchief - Size: Length 44.2 cm x Width 42.5 cm
Provenance
Collected by Dr. A.A. Travill for the Queen's University Faculty of Medicine Collection
(b) The wooden base of the sphygmomanometer reads, "S. MAW SON & SONS LONDON"; the incremented scale has the numbers, top to bottom, "80 // 70 // 60 // 50 // 40 // 30 // 20 // 10 // 100 // 90 // 80 // 70 // 60 // 50 // 40 // 30 // 20 // 10 // 100 // 90 // 80 // 70 // 60 // 50 // 40 // 30 // 20 // 10 // 0"; (c) raised lettering on the rubber bulb reads, "Tycos // ROCHESTER, N.Y."; engraved words on the metal airflow control read, "Tycos // ROCHESTER, N.Y. // PAT. 2006878"; (d) both buckles have the word, "BENNETT'S" stamped into the metal.
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-E6-6
Condition Remarks
(a) the box is complete and shows only minor wear, except for the leather handle, which is complete but worn; (b) the sphygmomanometer is complete and shows only minor wear; the rubber is flexible; (c) the bulb is brittle and no longer flexible; the rubber tubing is flexible; the glass tube is slightly chipped at the tip; the cloth shows minor wear; the plasticized cloth is complete with only very minor wear; the rubber inside is completely deteriorated and in pieces; the cloth straps are complete with only minor wear; (e) the silk handkerchief shows several stains and three small holes; all metal in this artifact is complete with minor wear and no corrosion; #2: mercury is solidified; rubber is stiff and broken into pieces; fabric is stained.
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Book
Document
Slide
Reference Comments
Previous number #33; Faculty of Medicine Collection 1984 Inventory; "Antique Medical Instruments," by Keith Wilbur, 1987, p. 32 (similar to Janeway's Sphygmomanometer); "American Hospital Supply Division of AHSC (Canada) Ltd. Catalog C30," by the American Hospital Supply Corp., c. 1966, pp. 30440–30450 (items 30444 and 30446)