Syrette

British syrette containing Omnopon, c. 1990s

Syrette of morphine from World War II, on display at the Army Medical Services Museum

A syrette is a single-use device for injecting liquid through a needle. It is similar to a syringe except that it has a sealed squeeze tube instead of a rigid tube and piston. It was developed by the pharmaceutical manufacturer E.R. Squibb & Sons (eventually merged into the current day Bristol-Myers Squibb) just prior to World War II (WWII).^[1]

Instructions for using the syrette from the FM 21-11 Basic Field Manual – First Aid for Soldiers, April 7, 1943

Diagram showing wire loop pin

In WWII, the morphine syrette was included in first aid kits. It had a wire loop with a guard at the end of a hollow needle that was used to break a seal where the needle was attached to the tube. The wire loop was then removed and the needle was inserted under the skin at a shallow angle and the tube slowly squeezed from the sealed end (see subcutaneous injection).^[2] After injection the used tube was often pinned to the receiving soldier's collar to inform others of the dose administered.^[1]

The syrette was adopted for use by the United States Army in 1940.^[1] The US military also distributed atropine in syrettes.^{[citation needed]} Chemical treatment was subsequently distributed in autoinjector form.^{[citation needed]}