Malmstrom's obstetrical vacuum extractor, Gothenburg, Sweden, 1979

Malmstrom's obstetrical vacuum extractor, Gothenburg, Sweden, 1979

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Malmstrom obstetrical vacuum extractor, by AB Vacuum Extractor, Gothenburg, Sweden, 1979

This instrument was used to help deliver babies, in place of forceps. It is a type designed by the Swede T Malmstrom in the 1950s and was manufactured by AB Vacuum Extractor in Sweden. In 1849 Sir James Young Simpson (1811-1870) successfully used a suction cup attached to the baby's head to aid delivery, and this is the idea that Malmstrom revived one hundred years later.

Details

Category:
Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Contraception
Object Number:
1980-58
Materials:
vessel, glass, tubing, rubber and fittings, steel (stainless)
Measurements:
overall: 1.3491 kg
overall (tube with pump): 740 mm 35 mm,
overall (extractor): 28 mm x 290 mm 20 mm,
overall (vessel): 280 mm 80 mm,
overall (other tube): 1350 mm 130 mm,
overall (tubes): 1570 mm
type:
obstetrical vacuum extractor
credit:
Downs Surgical Limited