Patent ID: 6878131

Claim:
A syringe comprising: a hollow axially elongated barrel having distal and proximal ends; a needle carrier releasably secured to said distal end of said barrel; a hollow needle carried by said carrier and in communication with the interior of the barrel; a plunger axially slidable in said barrel and having a thumbpress at a proximal end thereof and external to said proximal end of the barrel, said plunger including a bung adjacent an opposite end and within the barrel; an element carried by said opposite end of said plunger and engageable with a mating element carried by said needle carrier, one of said elements snapping over another of said elements to secure the elements to one another in response to axial movement of said plunger toward said distal end of the barrel and into engagement with said carrier; said element in engagement with said mating element carried by the needle carrier enabling detachment and removal of said carrier with said needle from said distal end of the barrel and withdrawal of said needle carrier and said needle into the barrel in response to axial sliding movement of the plunger away from the distal end of the barrel; said needle carrier being threadedly engaged with the distal end of the barrel, said elements having surfaces interengageable with one another enabling rotation of said plunger to unthread said carrier from the barrel and withdrawal of the carrier and needle axially into the barrel.