Description

This object is a blood flowmeter. There is a silver metal stand that sits raised on a table or flat surface to hold the flow meter up as well as causes it to be tilted. It has a label taped to it that reads "BLOOD FLOW METER". Attached to the stand is the rest of the blood flowmeter which lies adjacent to the stand. There is a silver metal piece that is circular in shape. It has the numbers 0, 20, and 40 with markings in between the numbers like on a ruler. Attached to it is a long piece of silver metal that is approximately 8.5 inches in length. Taped to it is a piece of brown scotch tape with a table of numbers on it. Raised above it is a cylindrical glass tube in the middle with a small white ball inside of it. This glass tube is set in somewhat of a cylindrical canister with three vertical metal rods enclosing it. The flowmeter is tilted at a slant so that the ball can be moved up and down the scale as blood flows in and out. Attached and protruding on the sides are inlets and outlets for blood. There is a scale that is goes from 1 to 13 inside of the glass tube. The piece of scotch tape with the numbers on it is believed to correlate with the scale in the glass tube. The strip of scotch tape has numbers from 1-12 and has a different number that could signify rate by each at 40 degrees. No. 1 doesn't have a number by it; starting with no.2 with 220 beside it, the range goes up to 1820 besides no. 12. According to the exhibit card, this flowmeter was circa 1958-1960. It was used to measure the flow of blood during open-heart surgery. Dimensions are: 5" H x 8" W x 11.5" L; weight: 5 lbs., 3.1 oz.