| 摘要 |
An epidural catheter comprises a flexible plastics tube (1) that is closed at its patient end tip (4) but has four slits (5 to 8) extending along the patient end (3) to render the catheter more flexible at its patient end. The slits (5 to 8) extend parallel to one another and to the axis of the catheter and are formed without removal of material. An aperture (20) may be located rearwardly of the slits. The catheter is made by pushing the patient end of a tube with an open tip (30) along its length over a cruciform arrangement (32) of crossed blades so as to slit its patient end into four segments (15 to 18). The segments are then joined together at the patient end by end forming in a heated die (33). Alternatively, the catheter may have a helical slit (41).
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