Ohio Rubber Mask
Ohio Anatomical Mask
Many 19th and early 20th Century anesthesia masks were made of metal or of celluloid, and had a detachable rubber rim that could be inflated for a better seal. Anesthesia masks made of molded rubber were in use by the 1870s. Throughout the 20th Century, rubber masks were associated with anesthesia machines. The manufacturers have included Heidbrink, Connell, Ohio and many others. Masks molded for a tight fit over the patient's nose and mouth are called "anatomical" masks. The Ohio Anatomical Mask was made of conductive rubber, in sizes from premature through large adult. The mask has a built-in, pneumatic rim made of a softer, more pliable rubber than the body of the mask. This example was made between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s.
Because some anesthetics, such as ether and ethylene, were flammable, anesthesiologists sought ways to prevent fires and explosions in the operating room. Grounding chains and conductive flooring, as well as hoses, masks, shoes and other products made of conductive rubber, lowered the risk of sparks caused by static electricity. Today, only non-flammable anesthetics may be used in U. S. hospitals and clinics.
Catalog Record: Ohio Rubber Mask Ohio Rubber Mask
Access Key: apot
Accession No.: 2016-11-14-1
Title: [Ohio anatomical mask] / Ohio Medical Products.
Corporate Author: Ohio Medical Products.
Title variation: Not Applicable
Title: Ohio rubber mask.
Publisher: Madison, Wisconsin : Ohio Medical Products, [between 1967 and 1984].
Physical Description: 1 anesthesia mask : rubber, metal, plastic ; 9 x 9 x 11 cm.
Subject: Anesthesia, Inhalation – instrumentation.
Subject: Masks, Anesthesia.
Web Link: https://www.woodlibrarymuseum.org/museum/item/1058/ohio-rubber-mask
Note Type: General
Notes: The date range is based on the label on the back of the mask. The Ohio Chemical & Surgical Equipment Co. changed its name to Ohio Medical Products in 1967. The company name became Ohmeda in 1984.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Horton JW. Present status of the problem of preventing anesthetic explosions. Anesthesiology. March, 1941;2(2):121-137.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Newman J. Making GE’s devices: Madison companies healthy under big GE’s careful wing. Madison, Wisconsin: Madison.Com., July 2, 2006. Link no longer accessible as of November 20, 2016.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Ohio Medical Products. Ohio rubber goods & endotracheal. Madison, Wisconsin: Ohio Medical Products, 1972. Ohio Company File. Located at: Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Ohio Medical Products. Ohio anesthesia and anesthesia machine accessories. Madison, Wisconsin: Ohio Medical Products, 1981. Ohio Company File. Located at: Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Thomas FR. Manual of the Discovery, Manufacture and Administration of Nitrous Oxide, or Laughing Gas, in its Relations to Dental or Minor Surgical Operations, and Particularly for the Painless Extraction of Teeth. Philadelphia: S. S. White, 1870: 76-77.
Note Type: Physical Description
Notes: One anesthesia mask; The mask is made of two grades of black rubber; The shape is a roughly triangular dome, with a small, rounded notch at the front of the rim and a wider notch at the back of the rim; In the top of the dome there is a round opening approximately 2 centimeters in diameter; A black plastic elbow connector has been inserted in this opening; This connector is so tightly fixed that it would be difficult to remove without damage; The body of the mask is shaped so that a tube, approximately 1.5 centimeters long, rises from the front of the mask (immediately above the smaller notch); This tube is the port through which the rim can be inflated; The rim is made of a softer rubber than the body of the mask; The back of the mask is marked: “Ohio Medical Products [new line] CONDUCTIVE [followed by the “UL” logo of Underwriters Laboratories] [new line] SMALL ADULT [new line] PAT NO. 2,875,757″; The interior of the dome appears to be marked: “COB”.
Note Type: Reproduction
Notes: Photographed by Mr. Steve Donisch, November 14, 2016.
Note Type: Historical
Notes: Some 19th and early 20th Century anesthetics, such as ether and ethylene, were flammable. Anesthesiologists sought ways to prevent fires and explosions in the operating room. Grounding chains and conductive flooring, as well as hoses, masks, shoes and other products made of conductive rubber, lowered the risk of sparks caused by static electricity. Today, only noncombustible anesthetics may be used in U. S. hospitals and clinics. Many 19th and early 20th Century anesthesia masks, made of metal or of celluloid, had a detachable rubber rim that could be inflated for a better seal. Anesthesia masks made of molded rubber were in use by the 1870s. Throughout the 20th Century, rubber masks were associated with anesthesia machines. The manufacturers have included Heidbrink, Connell, Ohio and many others. Masks molded for a tight fit over the patient’s nose and mouth are called “anatomical” masks. Ohio made these in sizes from premature through large adult. The mask has a built-in, pneumatic rim made of a softer, more pliable rubber than the body of the mask. This example was made between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s.
Note Type: Exhibition