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Jonas Salk's Syringe

National Museum of American History

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Object Details

Becton, Dickinson and Company
Description
Jonas Salk used this syringe during the testing of his polio vaccine. In the early tests carried out in 1952 and 1953, Salk gave all the vaccinations himself. The first subjects included children at the D. T. Watson Home for Crippled Children, residents of the Polk State Home, Salk, and members of his laboratory staff. In 1953, the first community-based, pilot vaccine trial was carried out with volunteer families in the Pittsburgh area. A second pilot trial included thousands of Pittsburgh schoolchildren. The success of these early tests paved the way for the Salk Vaccine National Field Trial of 1954.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis
ca 1950
ID Number
MG.221419.07
catalog number
221419.07
accession number
221419
Object Name
biological
syringe, vaccine, polio
Other Terms
syringe, hypodermic; Hypodermic
Physical Description
glass (plunger; barrel; tip material)
steel (handle; needle material)
Measurements
overall: 10.4 cm x 2.8 cm x 1 cm; 4 1/8 in x 1 1/8 in x 3/8 in
overall: 4 1/8 in x 1 1/8 in x 3/8 in; 10.4775 cm x 2.8575 cm x .9525 cm
Related Publication
Kendrick, Kathleen M. and Peter C. Liebhold. Smithsonian Treasures of American History
National Museum of American History. Treasures of American History online exhibition
Related Web Publication
http://americanhistory.si.edu/treasures
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Medicine
National Treasures exhibit
Health & Medicine
The Antibody Initiative
Antibody Initiative: Polio
National Museum of American History
Record ID
nmah_734498
Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-866b-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Related Content

  • Polio

    American History Museum
Salk polio vaccine
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