摘要 |
An improved syringe for delivering a viscous liquid, especially bone cement, to a surgical site, has a barrel with a distal outlet end and an open proximal end, and a plunger movable axially within the barrel, the plunger having a shaft extending proximally from the proximal end of the barrel. The plunger shaft incorporates a reinforcing structure that provides increased torsional rigidity and improved dispersion of torsional loads, and the barrel includes an outwardly and proximally flared peripheral rim around its proximal end. The peripheral rim forms a funnel that circumscribes less than 360°, and preferably about 240° of the proximal end of the barrel, thereby defining a gap in the rim that provides direct access to the open proximal end of the barrel. The rim facilitates the filling of the barrel either by pouring a liquid into the funnel, or by filling the barrel with a highly viscous, paste-like liquid directly into the open proximal end of the barrel through the gap. The shaft is formed of a pair of flattened, elongate longitudinal members that intersect at right angles to form a shaft structure that is cruciform in cross section, wherein the reinforcing structure is provided by a truss element lattice formed between the longitudinal members.
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