A--_Base of Instrument_, connected by a screw, containing a cavity and valve, through which the fluid is drawn into the Barrel.
B--_Barrel_, containing the Piston or Plunger.
C--_Cap_, connected with the Barrel by a screw.
D--_Piston Rod_, surmounted by a metallic handle, terminating within the Barrel by the Piston or Plunger.
E--_Metallic Chamber_, containing a valve, to which is connected, by a screw, the flexible Tube.
F--_Flexible Tube_, to the end of which are attached, as they may be needed, the different pipes.
G--_Straight Pipe_, for injecting the bowels of adults, to be attached to the flexible Tube, when used with an assistant.
H--_Crooked or Angular Tube_, to be used for self-administration.
I--_Small Pipe_, for injecting the bowels of children.
Attach the crooked or angular tube, H, to the end of the flexible tube, F; place the fluid intended for use in a basin opposite you; introduce the pipe, and sit down upon it, holding the instrument upright in the basin with one hand, and working the piston with the other.
If the instrument is to be used by an assistant, (as is often the case in sickness by a nurse,) the straight pipe, G, should be used instead of the crooked or angular one.
For injecting the bowels of children, use the small pipe, I.
Attach the long pipe, J. (See Vaginal Injections.)
The Piston, or Plunger, and the Care of the same.
If the instrument has stood some time without use, or has been kept in a dry or warm place, the leather of which it is composed may have become dry; it should therefore be withdrawn from the barrel and immersed in warm water, (not hot.) It should then, after remaining a short time, be saturated with melted tallow or sweet oil, which will restore the suppleness to the leather and cause it to work easily within the barrel. If the instrument has stood in a very cold place, the leather of course would become chilled. This can be easily set right by merely immersing the barrel of the syringe in a basin of warm water. The interior of the barrel may sometimes become rough by means of matter adhering to it that has been used in the instrument, such as gruel, or other thick injections, and may cause an obstruction to the working of the plunger. The barrel should, therefore, in such cases, be thoroughly washed out with warm soapsuds before returning the plunger to its place. _The leather with which this is constructed is prepared in a peculiar manner, expressly for the proprietor, so that it will_ _not dry hard, and can be used for a long time without parting with its oily matter._