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The Massa or Rochester Plastic Needle

In 1950, a short article in the Proceedings of the Staff Meetings of the Mayo Clinic provided the first description of the modern intravenous catheter.1 Written by Mayo Clinic anesthesiology resident David J. Massa (1923-1990) (Figure 1, left) and associates, this article represents a milestone in infusion therapy.

MASSA'S INNOVATION

Massa's new catheter was designed to allow plastic tubing attached to a shortened 16-gauge steel needle to be threaded over a 19-gauge needle that acted as a stylet (Figure 2).Once this stylet needle had been inserted into a vein, the plastic catheter was threaded over it and the stylet was withdrawn (Figure 3).

Previously, 3 methods had been used to administer ...

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