A hypodermic needle is a medical tool which enters the skin for either injection or extraction purposes. It is generally used with a syringe to either inject substances into the body or to extract fluids from the body. In medical science, these needles are also used to extract a fluid sample from the body.
Hypodermic needles are generally very thin and have a sharp tip with a small opening at the end. They are mostly used to inject saline solutions and liquid medicines into the body or to take blood from a vein. They are used when there is a need for quick delivery of fluids into the body or for when there is an ingestion problem with the injected substance.
In addition, these needles are also very helpful for a research set-up that requires sterile conditions. Hypodermic needles also reduce contamination during inoculation of a sterile substrate. They are normally made from a stainless-steel and are use in a diverse range of medical domains across specialties.
Here are some of important uses of hypodermic needles –
- Such needles are multi-purpose and can be used either as a hook, a cutting instrument or as an extractor
- To use them as a hook, they are bent in the middle at a right angle and then we make it angulated
- They are used for nerve biopsy in which they pierce the nerve bundle margin after tissue dissection
- They also may be used to open tight knots in fine sutures where the pointed end is inserted in a knot to open it
- Hypodermic needles are used in various procedures as a cutting instrument. They used for cutting sutures by lifting the suture away from the skin surface which can then be cut using a surgical blade or scissors
- Doctors use hypodermic needles for drainage of an abscess that has formed due to paronychia or for the puncture of small abscesses
- Hypodermic needles are also used for ear and nose piercing for surgical purposes
- Surgeons use these needles when there is a need for subcutaneous incision-less surgery
- They deliver great results when used for the task of drainage of pustular lesions in acne
- These needles have extensive uses in hair transplantation, particular during sleeving of grafts
- They are fit for hematoma drainage in skin grafting
- These needles are used for common skin tests like those performed to investigate the pathergy phenomenon
- Hypodermic needles are extensively used in the form of extractors and thus used a lot in medical science
- They are used as an extractor in the treatment of Milia, where a superficial epidermal nick is needed at the top of the lesion to empty the contents
- Doctors use hypodermic needles as a cotton tipped applicator to apply Trichloroacetic acid, Phenol, podophylin, and tincture benzoin etc.
- Hypodermic needles are used for sensory examination where they are used to test for the sensation of patients suffering leprosy
- Hypodermic needles are also used for the sensory examination in peripheral neuropathy
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