Disposable hypodermic syringe

Claim 1

A disposable hypodermic syringe designed to allow a user of the syringe to easily and accurately determine if the sterility of the syringe has been compromised, said syringe including: a barrel having a front open end and a rear open end, said barrel being adapted to receive a piston that is movable in the barrel and seals same, said piston being adapted for connection to a piston rod inserted through the rear open end of the barrel; a needle mount provided at the front open end of the barrel, said needle mount having a narrowed sleeve-like portion at an end remote from the barrel, said sleeve-like portion having an injection needle connected thereto; a needle guard having a thickened open end that is detachably connected to the sleeve-like portion of the needle mount in a functionally clamping manner, thereby achieving a sterile sealing of the needle; and a sealing member adapted to seal the connection between the needle mount and the needle guard in a manner such that breakage of the seal is easily and accurately detectable by a user of the syringe, said sealing member comprising a sleeve of shrinkable plastic sheet disposed around the connection between the needle mount and the needle guard in a manner such that reconnection of the needle guard to the needle mount after initial removal of the needle guard is substantially prevented, said sleeve having a first end shrunk around the needle guard and a second end shrunk around the needle mount and optionally also around the barrel of the syringe.