Glass Syringe
Title
Glass Syringe
Description
In the second half of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century, doctors and patients at home relied on glass syringes to treat various conditions, including venereal diseases. Unlike hypodermic needles, these artifacts, also called “male” syringes, did not inject medicine subcutaneously. Instead, these syringes irrigated or flushed the visibly infected parts of the body. The “male” syringe entered the tip of the penis to flush the symptoms from the urethra. In addition to the discomfort, these treatments failed to cure the venereal diseases and only masked the symptoms for periods of time.
Read more about this object: https://omeka.camden.rutgers.edu/items/show/16
Source
Recovered from excavation prior to construction of Rutgers-Camden dormitory at 330 Cooper Street, Camden, N.J.
Publisher
Rutgers University-Camden
Date
c. 1840-1900; photographed April 2018.
Contributor
TJ Potero (Graduate Student, American Material Culture, Spring 2018); photograph by Jacob Lechner.
Rights
Collection of Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts
Relation
Affleck, Richard, George Cress, Ingrid Weubber, Rebecca White, Kimberly Morrell, and Thomas Kutys. Phase II and Data-Recovery Archaeological Excavations of the Smith-Maskell Site Cooper Street Development Camden, New Jersey. Archaeological Excavation Report, Burlington: URS Corporation.
Format
Hand-blown glass syringes.
Syringe #1, Barrel: 5 ½ in (L) (13.97 cm (L), Plunging Rod: 3 ½ in (L).
Syringe #2. Barrel 3 ½ in (L) (13.97 cm (L), Plunging Rod: 3 ¼ in (L).
Syringe #1, Barrel: 5 ½ in (L) (13.97 cm (L), Plunging Rod: 3 ½ in (L).
Syringe #2. Barrel 3 ½ in (L) (13.97 cm (L), Plunging Rod: 3 ¼ in (L).
Original Format
Photograph
Collection
Citation
“Glass Syringe,” Learning From Cooper Street, accessed February 13, 2025, https://omeka.camden.rutgers.edu/items/show/5.