Syringes and Needles Lab Lecture

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering syringe sizes, tip designs, needle gauges, needle lengths, and blood collection equipment from the Syringes and Needles Lab Lecture.

Insulin Syringe

A syringe specifically designed to measure insulin in units rather than milliliters, which must be precisely matched to the concentration on the insulin vial.

U-100 Insulin

An insulin concentration and syringe calibration that contains $100\,\text{units}$ per $1\,\text{mL}$.

U-40 Insulin

An insulin concentration and syringe calibration that contains $40\,\text{units}$ per $1\,\text{mL}$.

1cc Syringe

Also known as a tuberculin or TB syringe; commonly packaged with an attached $25\,\text{g}$ needle and used for injections under $0.5\,\text{cc}$ or very small blood draws (such as HW SNAP or GLU).

3cc Syringe

A standard syringe size used for blood draws and injections between $0.5\,\text{mL}$ and $3\,\text{mL}$, typically packaged with an attached $22\,\text{g}$ or $20\,\text{g}$ needle.

6cc Syringe

A syringe size primarily utilized for cystocentesis, injections ranging from $3\,\text{mL}$ to $6\,\text{mL}$, and occasionally for blood draws requiring more volume than a standard CBC/CHEM.

12cc / 20cc Syringes

Syringes used for injections requiring between $6\,\text{cc}$ and $20\,\text{cc}$, or for collecting urine from a urinary catheter.

60cc Syringe

A large-capacity syringe most commonly used for urine collection from a urinary catheter, aspirating fluids or air from a body cavity, and collecting blood from a feline blood donor.

Luer Lock Tip

A syringe tip configuration that requires the needle or attachment to be twisted onto the tip to securely lock it in place.

Slip Tip

A smooth, friction-fit syringe tip design where the needle or hub slides directly onto the tip without twisting.

Catheter Tip

An elongated, tapered syringe tip designed for attaching directly to tubing such as feeding tubes or urinary catheters rather than standard needles.

Eccentric Tip

A syringe tip positioned off-center along the outer rim of the barrel to allow closer parallel alignment with a patient's vessel or body surface.

Needle Gauge

The measurement of a needle's diameter and lumen size; an inverse relationship where a higher gauge number signifies a smaller diameter, and a lower gauge number signifies a larger diameter.

25g Needle

A fine-gauge needle used for intradermal (ID), small subcutaneous (SQ), intramuscular (IM), and intravenous (IV) injections, as well as patient-specific small blood draws.

22g Needle

A common needle size used for routine SQ, IM, and IV injections, as well as blood draws selected according to patient size, vein status, and diagnostic test needs.

20g Needle

A needle gauge used for blood draws requiring larger lumen flow based on vein caliber and sample needs, as well as SQ, IM, and IV injections.

18g Needle

A wide-bore needle gauge commonly selected for the rapid administration of subcutaneous (SQ) fluids.

Needle Length Designation

The shaft length of a needle (which is independent of gauge), formatted clinically as gauge by length (e.g., $22\,\text{g} \times 1''$, $20\,\text{g} \times 1.5''$, $25\,\text{g} \times 5/8''$).

Vacutainer

A blood collection assembly that uses internal vacuum pressure to automatically draw blood into an evacuated collection tube, utilizing a double-pointed needle, plastic holder, and vacuum tube.