Ben Franklin’s Forgotten Invention — The First Flexible Urinary Catheter,Benjamin Frankl

Ben Franklin’s Forgotten Invention — The First Flexible Urinary Catheter,Benjamin Franklin is credited with many inventions; the glass armonica, bifocals, the lightning rod, and many others.  However there is one invention that is truly forgotten to people today; the first flexible urinary catheter.  Today catheters are a staple of modern medicine, and the invention of the urinary catheter goes back thousands of years.  However catheters up to the 19th century were made of hard materials such as metal, and had no flexibility.Such was the great misfortunate for John Franklin, Benjamin Franklin’s brother, who suffered from an inoperable kidney stone and had to cath daily with a hard metal catheter in order relieve his bladder.  While Ben was known for his work with electricity, he was also interested in the fields of health and medicine.  He had studied anatomy in England, even taking part in vivisections within his own home. Thus in 1752 he put his mind into designing a better catheter for his brother.  Made from an extra soft silver alloy, the catheter was made of several dozen small flexible segments, held rigid by a stylet, and with holes bored into the sides for drainage.Franklin had the catheter produced by a local silversmith, then sent to his brother in Boston with a letter stating, “It is as flexible as would be expected in a thing of the kind, and I imagine will readily comply with the turns of the passage” -- source link
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