Intubation Kit
date: label: date made
content: 1897- 1899
label: date made
content: 1896 - 1899
name: label: maker
content: Ermold, George
notes: label: Description
content: Diphtheria, a disease mostly associated with childhood, is caused by a bacterial infection which results in the closing off of the airway. The airway becomes blocked by a thick gray mucous material making it difficult to breath. If the throat becomes completely blocked the person could suffocate and die. Diphtheria is not prevalent today, but before the development of a diphtheria antitoxin in 1890, a dsiphtheria vaccine, and antibiotics in the 1940’s it was a serious health crises in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
label: Description
content: To help keep the throat open Dr. Joseph P. O’ Dwyer (1841-1898) developed a set of tubes to help keep the patient’s airway open and help them breathe.
label: Description
content: Known familiarly as O’ Dwyer’s intubation tubes, sets came equipped with thin tubes made of metal or hard rubber of varying sizes, a scale for determining the correct size tube to be used, a mouth gag, an introducer for placing the tube down the throat, and an extractor, a forceps-like instrument for removing the tube.
label: Description
content: Inserting the tubes was a two person procedure. A thread is passed through the hole in the tube. The child is held in an upright position by the assistant holding the head back. A mouth gag paced in the mouth, and the doctor inserts the tube down the throat. Once the tube is in place the introducer is removed.
label: Description
content: This set of O' Dwyer tubes has a brown leather covered case with hinged lid; two metal clasps on the front. The interior is lined with light brown leather. The set contains: 7 hard rubber O' Dwyer tubes with metal obturators; One O' Dwyer's improved scale, an introducer; an intubation tube extractor; and one Denhardt's mouth gag. "ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER OF DR. JOSEPH O'DWYER'S INTUBATION INSTRUMENTS FOR THE LARYNX". A label on the interior lid reads "GEORGE EMROLD / MF'R of / SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS / 312 & 314 E 22 ST. NY."
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: Communicable Diseases
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
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content: Health & Medicine
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content: Antibody Initiative: Diphtheria
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of The Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of the State of Maryland
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MG.302606.033
label: accession number
content: 302606
label: catalog number
content: 302606.033
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Case
label: Object Name
content: surgical set
label: Object Name
content: intubation set
label: Object Name
content: surgical set, intubation
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: leather (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: hard rubber (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal, steel (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: gold plate (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: average spatial: 5 cm x 24 cm x 12.5 cm; 1 15/16 in x 9 7/16 in x 4 15/16 in
label: Measurements
content: overall: 2 in x 9 1/2 in x 5 1/8 in; 5.08 cm x 24.13 cm x 13.0175 cm