Catheter for introduction into blood vessel

Claim 1

A catheter for introduction into a blood vessel, comprising: a catheter body having a lumen opening at a distal end of said catheter and provided at its proximal end with a first hub, said catheter body being covered on the outer surface thereof with a water-soluble high molecular weight material; and a super-elastic wire detachably inserted in said lumen of the catheter body and extended to reach a distal end region of the catheter body, said lumen having a diameter larger than said wire thereby defining a space around said wire for passage of a medical liquid through said lumen, and said wire being attached to a second hub which is detachably fitted in said first hub of the catheter body and has a passage therethrough in communication with said space for introducing a medical liquid through said first and second hubs, said space, and out of said opening, said super-elastic wire being covered with a synthetic resin layer having an X-ray non-transmission material mixed therein, and with a water-soluble high molecular weight material covering said synthetic resin layer.