How it works
To label the parts of a syringe, write a name on the line for each number. Numbers 1 to 5 are on the syringe, 6 to 8 on its needle. Names only, nothing on giving an injection.
Read the full guide
Syringe word bank
In alphabetical order, to copy onto the board: barrel, bevel, graduations, Luer lock tip, needle hub, needle shaft, plunger, stopper.
The numbers that get swapped
Number 1 is the whole rod with the flat top; 2 is only the dark seal on its lower end, inside the tube. Number 3 is the clear tube itself, and 4 the row of marks down its side. At the bottom, 5 is the threaded end of the syringe and 6 the tapered base of the needle that fits over it. Number 7 is the long thin tube; 8 is the slanted cut at its end, drawn large in the circle.
- When marking, piston is right on line 1, rubber tip on line 2, graduated marks on line 4 and needle adapter on line 5.
- The flat rim across the top of the clear tube is drawn with no number, and the needle's protective cover is left off.
Questions and answers
What is the tip of a syringe called?
On this worksheet it is a Luer lock tip, number 5, which the needle twists onto. A slip tip is plain, with no thread. A catheter tip is a slip tip made longer and tapered, and an eccentric tip is set off to one side.
Is it a plunger or a piston?
Both are in use. A syringe works as a small pump: a rod slides inside a close-fitting tube, the barrel. The rod is usually called the plunger, though in a modern syringe it is strictly a piston. The answer key writes plunger.
Why is it called a hypodermic needle?
Hypodermic comes from the Greek for under and skin. The needle is a very fine tube, hollow all the way along and sharp at one end. In the circle on the worksheet, the dark stripe inside the needle is that hollow. It has no number.
Where does the word syringe come from?
From the Greek syrinx, a word for a tube and for the pan flute. The tube of a syringe is its barrel, number 3 on the worksheet.