Insulin Injection

Insulin must be injected into the body on a regular daily basis. It cannot be taken orally because it is destroyed by the digestive system before it can be utilized. The necessity of injection has led to the development of specialty syringes and other delivery devices designed to improve the ease and convenience of daily injections.  Before the introduction of disposable syringes in the 1960s, reusable needles had to be regularly sterilized and sharpened.  Insulin pens, designed to be discreet and portable, appeared in the 1980s.   The latest devices are insulin pumps which allow for continuous control of insulin levels but are also very expensive.

Steps for Injecting Insulin

Instructions for Injecting Insulin, from A Diabetic Manual for the Mutual Use of Doctor and Patient, by Elliott P. Joslin, M.D. 1941.

Hypodermic Syringe

After the connection between insulin and diabetes was announced in 1921, several pharmaceutical firms hastened to bring insulin and related materials to market.
Description
After the connection between insulin and diabetes was announced in 1921, several pharmaceutical firms hastened to bring insulin and related materials to market. This cardboard box contains one hypodermic needle and carries a text that reads in part “ONE LILLEY ASEPTIC GLASS / ILETIN SYRINGE No. 230 / Complete with two steel needles. Graduated to administer U-10 and U-20 Iletin” and “ELI LILLEY AND COMPANY, INDIANAPOLIS, U.S.A.” The inscription on the syringe reads “Lilley 993 / NO. 230-ILETIN SYRINGE / ELI LILLY & CO. INDIANAPOLIS, U.S.A.” Iletin was the Eli Lilly trade name for insulin. The firm filed for a trademark on the term in 1922.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
maker
Eli Lilly and Company
ID Number
1982.0498.12
catalog number
1982.0498.12
accession number
1982.0498

Hypodermic Syringe

Cardboard box containing one hypodermic needle, and carrying a text that reads in part “LILLY’S ILETIN SYRINGE NO. 280” AND “ELI LILLY & CO. Indianapolis, U.S.A.” The inscription on the needle tube reads “Lilly 35787 / NO. 280 ILETIN SYRINGE / ELI LILLY & CO.
Description
Cardboard box containing one hypodermic needle, and carrying a text that reads in part “LILLY’S ILETIN SYRINGE NO. 280” AND “ELI LILLY & CO. Indianapolis, U.S.A.” The inscription on the needle tube reads “Lilly 35787 / NO. 280 ILETIN SYRINGE / ELI LILLY & CO. INDIANAPOLIS, U.S.A.” Iletin was the Eli Lilly trade name for insulin. The firm filed for a trademark on the term in 1922.
In the early 1920s, Eli Lilly collaborated with the research team at the University of Toronto to develop the commercial manufacture of insulin. Along with the production of insulin, the company marketed accessories such as insulin syringe kits and testing kits for urine sugar.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940
maker
Eli Lilly and Company
ID Number
1982.0498.13
catalog number
1982.0498.13
accession number
1982.0498

Lilly's Iletin Syringe No. 270

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940
maker
Eli Lilly and Company
ID Number
1982.0498.14
catalog number
1982.0498.14
accession number
1982.0498

Lilly's Iletin Syringe No. 350

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940
maker
Eli Lilly and Company
ID Number
1982.0498.15
catalog number
1982.0498.15
accession number
1982.0498

Lilly Ever-Aseptic Iletin Syringe Case with Accessories, No. 65

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1936
maker
Eli Lilly and Company
ID Number
1982.0498.17
catalog number
1982.0498.17
accession number
1982.0498

Faichney's Insulin Hypodermic Needle

Hypodermic needle in a cardboard box with a “FAICHNEY / INSULIN NEEDLE” inscription. The Faichney Instrument Co. was formed in 1888 and began by manufacturing mercury-in-glass thermometers. This needle was made after the discovery of insulin in 1921.Currently not on view
Description
Hypodermic needle in a cardboard box with a “FAICHNEY / INSULIN NEEDLE” inscription. The Faichney Instrument Co. was formed in 1888 and began by manufacturing mercury-in-glass thermometers. This needle was made after the discovery of insulin in 1921.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930s
maker
Faichney Instrument Corporation
ID Number
1985.0475.809
catalog number
1985.0475.809
accession number
1985.0475

B-D Disposable Insulin Needle Unit, No. D1-80 S

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
maker
Becton, Dickinson and Company
ID Number
1985.0475.812
accession number
1985.0475
catalog number
1985.0475.812

B-D Disposable Insulin Needle Unit, No. D1-40 S

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
maker
Becton, Dickinson and Company
ID Number
1985.0475.813
catalog number
1985.0475.813
accession number
1985.0475

B-D, Yale, 1 cc. Insulin Syringe, Long-Type, 1YTI-40S

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
Becton, Dickinson and Company
ID Number
1985.0475.822
catalog number
1985.0475.822
accession number
1985.0475

B-D, Yale, Luer-Lok Tip, 1 cc. Insulin Syringe, Short Type, No. 2042

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960s
maker
Becton, Dickinson and Company
ID Number
1985.0475.820
catalog number
1985.0475.820
accession number
1985.0475

B-D, Yale, Glass Luer Tip, 1 cc. Insulin Syringe, Short Type, No. 2023

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960s
maker
Becton, Dickinson and Company
ID Number
1985.0475.819
catalog number
1985.0475.819
accession number
1985.0475

B-D, Yale, Luer-Lok, 1 cc. Insulin Syringe, Short Type, No. 1YLI-80S

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960s
maker
Becton, Dickinson and Company
ID Number
1985.0475.817
accession number
1985.0475
catalog number
1985.0475.817

Kayden Insulin Injector

The Kayden insulin injector was probably devised and marketed by Gustave Lawrence Kayden (1894-1953), an inventor on Long Island, New York.Ref: Gustave L. Kayden, “Attachment for Hypodermic Syringes,” U.S. Patent 2,295,849 (Sept. 15, 1942).Currently not on view
Description
The Kayden insulin injector was probably devised and marketed by Gustave Lawrence Kayden (1894-1953), an inventor on Long Island, New York.
Ref: Gustave L. Kayden, “Attachment for Hypodermic Syringes,” U.S. Patent 2,295,849 (Sept. 15, 1942).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955
maker
Kayden Scientific Corporation
ID Number
1990.0280.01
catalog number
1990.0280.01
accession number
1990.0280

NovoPen Insulin Delivery Device

The patent, issued in 1986, described “a dispenser suitable for use in dispensing a liquid medicine, for instance insulin solution.
Description
The patent, issued in 1986, described “a dispenser suitable for use in dispensing a liquid medicine, for instance insulin solution. The dispenser is, in principle, constructed as a hypodermic syringe but differs in that it enables dispensing of a predetermined portion.” Both inventors lived in Denmark.
Ref: Jorn Rex and Otto A. Vogeley, “Dispenser,” U.S. Patent 4,592,745 (June 3, 1986), assigned to Novo Industri A/S.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1986
patent date
1986-06-03
maker
Squibb-Novo, Inc.
ID Number
2004.0129.90
patent number
US4592745A
accession number
2004.0129
catalog number
2004.0129.90

Lilly Iletin Syringe

After the connection between insulin and diabetes was announced in 1921, pharmaceutical firms hastened to bring insulin and related materials to market. This cardboard box contains a hypodermic needle in a metal case, a glass bottle for alcohol, and related material.
Description
After the connection between insulin and diabetes was announced in 1921, pharmaceutical firms hastened to bring insulin and related materials to market. This cardboard box contains a hypodermic needle in a metal case, a glass bottle for alcohol, and related material. A label reads in part: “LILLY’S ASEPTIC SYRINGE NEEDLE / NO. 65 / (PATENT 1,625,035)” and “ELI LILLY & COMPANY, INDIANAPOLIS, U.S.A.”
Ref: Eli Lily, “Hypodermic Kit,” U.S. Patent 1,625,035 (April 19, 1927).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
maker
Eli Lilly and Company
ID Number
MG.M-02887
catalog number
M-02887
accession number
111796

Lilly Iletin Syringe

This metal case contains two metal needles, and a graduated glass syringe with an inscription that reads in part “Lilly / ILETIN SYRINGE.” Iletin was the Eli Lilly & Co. trade name for insulin. The inscription on the case reads “Lilly / ASEPTIC.”Currently not on view
Description
This metal case contains two metal needles, and a graduated glass syringe with an inscription that reads in part “Lilly / ILETIN SYRINGE.” Iletin was the Eli Lilly & Co. trade name for insulin. The inscription on the case reads “Lilly / ASEPTIC.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
maker
Eli Lilly and Company
ID Number
MG.M-02888
catalog number
M-02888
accession number
111796

B-D Insulin Syringe, Dr. Busher's Automatic Injector

Herbert Busher, a physician in St Paul, Minnesota, designed a hypodermic syringe particularly for the self-administration of insulin. This example was made by Becton-Dickinson in New Jersey.
Description
Herbert Busher, a physician in St Paul, Minnesota, designed a hypodermic syringe particularly for the self-administration of insulin. This example was made by Becton-Dickinson in New Jersey. One label on the cardboard box reads “B-D INSULIN SYRINGE / For use with / 20 OR 40 UNIT INSULIN / BECTON, DICKIN-SON & CO., RUTHERFORD, N. J.” Another reads “DR. BUSHER’S / AUTOMATIC / INJECTOR / PAT. 1,845,O36.”
Ref: Herbert H. Busher, “Hypodermic Syringe,” U.S. Patent 1,845,036 (Feb. 16, 1932).
Herbert Busher, “Automatic Hypodermic Syringe for Self Administration of Insulin and Other Uses,” Journal of the American Medical Association 102 (1934): 1152.
Herbert Busher, “Automatic Hypodermic Injector,” Science 81 (1935): 256.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1932
patent date
1932-02-16
maker
Becton, Dickinson and Company
ID Number
MG.M-07852
catalog number
M-07852
accession number
223292
patent number
US1845036A

Syringe Sterilizing Case

An inscription on the cardboard box reads “B-D / BAKELITE SYRINGE STERILIZING CASE / WITH POCKET CLIP / NO 60S / BECKTON, DICKINSON & CO. MADE IN U.S.A. RUTHERFORD, N.J.” The form was advertised as early as 1935.Currently not on view
Description
An inscription on the cardboard box reads “B-D / BAKELITE SYRINGE STERILIZING CASE / WITH POCKET CLIP / NO 60S / BECKTON, DICKINSON & CO. MADE IN U.S.A. RUTHERFORD, N.J.” The form was advertised as early as 1935.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Becton, Dickinson & Company
ID Number
1993.0014.30
catalog number
1993.0014.30
accession number
1993.0014

B-D Pen, Insulin Delivery Device

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 2000
maker
Becton, Dickinson and Company
ID Number
2002.0098.10
accession number
2002.0098
catalog number
2002.0098.10

Novolin 70/30 Prefilled Insulin Syringe, 1.5 ml, 100 units/ml

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1994
maker
Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Inc
ID Number
2001.0031.03
accession number
2001.0031
catalog number
2001.0031.03

U-100 Novolin R PenFill, Regular Human Insulin Injection (semi synthetic)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1987
maker
Squibb-Novo, Inc.
ID Number
2004.0129.91
accession number
2004.0129
catalog number
2004.0129.91

B-D, Ultra-Fine II, Short Needle, U-100 Insulin, 1/2 cc

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 2000
maker
Becton, Dickinson and Company
ID Number
2006.0146.11
catalog number
2006.0146.11
accession number
2006.0146

B-D, Ultra-Fine II, Short Needle, U-100 Insulin, 1/2 cc

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 2000
maker
Becton, Dickinson and Company
ID Number
2006.0146.12
catalog number
2006.0146.12
accession number
2006.0146

MiniMed Paradigm 512 (MMT-512NA)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date produced
2003
maker
Medtronic
ID Number
2016.0073.05
accession number
2016.0073
catalog number
2016.0073.05
serial number
013165-AOP

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