The Birmingham gauge is a wire gauge system, and is also used to specify thickness or diameter of hypodermic needles and tube products.
Video Birmingham gauge
Terminology
Birmingham gauge is also known as the Stubs Iron Wire Gauge or Birmingham Wire Gauge. It is not the same as, though similar to, the Stubs Steel Wire Gauge.
Birmingham gauge is often simply termed Gauge, with the abbreviation G. However, this should be distinguished from French gauge.
Maps Birmingham gauge
System
The gauge starts at the lowest gauge number of 5Ø or 00000, corresponding to the largest size of 0.500" (12.7mm) to the highest gauge number of 36, corresponding to the smallest size of 0.004" (0.102mm). Size steps between gauges range from 0.001" between high gauge numbers to 0.046" between the two lowest gauge numbers and do not correspond to a particular mathematical pattern, although for the most part the steps get smaller with increasing gauge number. Concerning wire and fine tubing, the gauge number is used to specify the outside diameter of the product, whereas for larger mechanical tubing the gauge number specifies the wall thickness independent of the overall size of the tube.
In medicine, the Birmingham gauge specifies the outside diameter of hypodermic needles, catheters, cannulae and suture wires. It was originally developed in early 19th-century England for use in wire manufacture, and it began appearing in a medical setting in the early 20th century.
Another common needle gauge system is the French catheter scale.
Needle wire gauge was derived from the Stubs Iron Wire Gauge.
Sizes of hypodermic needles
Hypodermic needles are available in a wide variety of outer diameters described by gauge numbers. Smaller gauge numbers indicate larger outer diameters. Inner diameter depends on both gauge and wall thickness. The following chart shows nominal inner diameter and wall thickness for regular-wall needles. Thin-wall needles (not shown) have identical outer diameters but larger inner diameters for a given gauge.
Sizes of catheters
This includes peripheral venous catheters and central venous catheters.
See also
- Wire gauge, including other systems
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- Wire gauge comparison chart
- French gauge, mainly for catheters
References
Further reading
- ISO 9626: Stainless steel needle tubing for the manufacture of medical devices, 1st ed. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization, 1991: 1-2.
- ISO 9626: Stainless steel needle tubing for the manufacture of medical devices, Amendment 1. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization, 2001: 1-2.
- Wonsik Ahn; Jae-Hyon Bahk; Young-Jin Lim (2002). "The "Gauge" System for the Medical Use". Anesthesia & Analgesia. 95 (4): 1125. doi:10.1097/00000539-200210000-00076.
External links
- Iserson KV (1987). "The origins of the gauge system for medical equipment". J Emerg Med. 5 (1): 45-8. doi:10.1016/0736-4679(87)90009-6. PMID 3295010.
- Sheet Metal Gauge Size Data - Engineers Edge
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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