The Lab Technology Display Case in the Hallmarks of Mercy
Special thanks to Volunteer Nancy Wilms for help in digitizing this display.
Saline Container
This was the forerunner of today’s IV drip bags. The lab produced the water and the pharmacy made up a normal saline solution (same amount found in normal blood). Then it was all sterilized in an autoclave. A tube could be punched through the opening and the container would be hung upside down to be used for intravenous feeding. Note that the graduated markings could be read correctly when the container was tipped upside down.
Old Mortars and Pestles
Ceramic mortar (bowl) and pestle (mixer) for crushing hard items like pills. The screened mortar and metal pestle were used to pulverize the lumps in chemicals caused by dampness. It was held over a weighing scale as the components were ground into fine particles.
Old Chemical Bottles
Balance and Weights
Used to measure reagents. The tiny certified weights in the wooden case were used to measure minute amounts.
TENS Unit
The acronym, TENS, stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator. It provided an electrical/vibrating sensation picked up by the large thick insulated nerve fibers to block pain signals. It was used to mask dull, achy pain. [Although TENS is still used today,] this type of unit is no longer used. Donated by Susan Hoppa in memory of her father, Edwin Cleveland.
Old Microscope
Hemocytometer
Used to count the red and white blood cells. A drop of blood was placed in the concave circle of the glass slide. The slide contained a grid, visible under a microscope, which made it possible for the lab technicians to count the cells by hand. Because normal blood contains too many cells to count this way, the blood had to first be diluted. The brown rubber tubes with the mouthpieces were used to suck the blood and diluent into the glass tube. The glass bulb held the major portion of blood and diluents. The glass tube was then shaken by hand to mix the diluted sample.
Slide Rule
This was what doctors and technicians used to crunch numbers in the days before calculators!
Hemoglobinometer (1928)
This device determined the hemoglobin concentration in a patient’s blood. A small amount of blood was dropped in the groove of the slide shown. Blue light from the Hemoglobinmeter was used to match the color of the blood sample at the top half of the slide, to the tiny color scale on the bottom half.
Colorimetric Exam Reader
Certain tests use color to determine the concentration of components, such as the level of sugar in blood. This device used the color scale on the left to match the color of the sample, held in the tube on the right.
Colorimetric Exam Reader
An actual prism was utilized in this device to measure the concentration of components, such as proteins in the blood. Light reflected off the bottom through a known concentration, held on one side, and an unknown sample, held on the other side. The knobs on the sides were used to move the tubes up and down until the colors in both tubes were equal. This model offered the precision to match fainter colors than the other model shown.
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