The all-glass Lüer syringe: Historical facts around concepts, introduction and patents

More than 125 years have elapsed since the "Maison Lüer" in Paris produced their quintessential all-glass hypodermic syringe. The product would subsequently conquer the medical world, with billions of plastic syringes produced on a yearly basis nowadays. One wonders how a world would look without this priceless diagnostic and therapeutic tool, facilitating the administration of drugs, fluids, and blood products to billions of patients worldwide. The Lüer syringe dates to 1894, when Parisian medical instrument maker Hermann Wülfing-Lüer manufactured a unique graduated all-glass hypodermic syringe. Its conical tip allowed accurate injections with rapid leak-free connections, and was heat-resistant without breaking while autoclaving at 120 °C. The authors of this article rectified several inaccuracies of historical facts, and obtained copies of original patents, documents and syringes to reveal accurate details regarding the originators of the all-glass syringes. The Lüer fittings are simple devices that connect virtually all syringes, needles and tubing. They are used in medicine and beyond, whether it is a Lüer-Slip or a Lüer-Lok™ (Lüer-Lock) version. In 1995, The International Organization of Standardization recommended the standard use of the Lüer-tipped syringe worldwide. Despite this, their popularity has sustained significant setbacks at times, including when reports were published on misconnections and wrong-route administration of drugs, resulting in harm to patients with sometimes fatal outcomes. Healthcare workers mistakenly connected devices with a specific use to other devices used for a different application. Current syringes are now mostly mass-produced, disposable plastic syringes, which still come with Lüer fittings for intravascular and hypodermic needles, whereas specific non-Lüer connectors are designed for other systems.