Most needles are made of stainless steel. They tend to be hollow with a hole type tunnel inside and are known to have three parts. The hub, which actually fits-in on the top of the syringe, the shaft; which is the long length of the needle, and the bevel which is the tip in slanted horizon of the needle. The bevel is used to create a slit or a small hole in the skin of a person which is used to pass on the fluid as the syringe is injected into the body. The slit closes up once the needle is pulled out of the skin ensuring no leakage of the medical fluid or the blood.
When it comes to the types of needles, they are differentiated on the basis of their lengths and the diameter. Needles tend to vary from 1/2 an inch to 3 inches. The diameter of the needle is normally measured in gauges, ranging from 07 gauge to 33 gauges. The gauge selection is made on the thickness of the medicine that needs to be injected in the body. If the medication is thick, a needle with small gauge and big diameter would be the preferred needle. The medication for intramuscular purposes is given with long needles while the shorter ones are used for subcutaneous medications.
Here are some common types of needles:
These are the most widely type of needles. With a cylindrical hollow in them, they are used with the syringe to inject substances into the body or extract fluids from it. Commonly used for taking the liquid samples, they are trusted to be very quick. These are one of the most important role-players in research and development since they significantly reduce the possible contamination in condition of inoculation of a sterile substrate.
Hypodermic NeedlesThese are a crucial link between the patient and the dialysis machine. This is why they need to meet the maximum requirements of utmost quality, safety and comfort from both sides the user and the patient. They need to have optimized flow-geometry, biocompatibility, and consistent high product quality.
Dialysis Fistula NeedlesThese needles are used to access the ports which are implanted under the skin of these ill patients. This is done for the repeated access to the veins for withdrawing infusion of medicines, blood, nutrient fluids, blood products and the solution for imaging. Such type of needles need to be designed for penetrating the port without having cut or dislodge any silicone or silver cores from the ports to which they have been inserted.
Huber NeedlesThese types of needles are considered the precursor of spinal anesthesia. They are made up of flexible material, used for lumbar puncture too.
Spinal Needles