A Tuohy needle is a hollow hypodermic needle

Hypodermic needle

A hypodermic needle is a hollow needle commonly used with a syringe to inject substances into the body or extract fluids from it...

, very slightly curved at the end, suitable for inserting epidural

Epidural

The term epidural is often short for epidural analgesia, a form of regional analgesia involving injection of drugs through a catheter placed into the epidural space...

 catheters.


The needle features an anti-coring curve at its tip, as shown in the picture above left.

Epidural needle

Literally, an epidural

Epidural

The term epidural is often short for epidural analgesia, a form of regional analgesia involving injection of drugs through a catheter placed into the epidural space...

 needle is simply a needle that is placed into the epidural space. To provide continuous epidural analgesia or anesthesia, a small hollow catheter may be threaded through the epidural needle into the epidural space, and left there while the needle is removed. There are multiple types of epidural needles as well as catheters, but in modern practice in developed nations, disposable materials are used to ensure sterility. Types of epidural needles include: Crawford; Tuohy; Husted; Weiss; Eldor.

Epidural needles are designed with a curved tip to help prevent puncture of the dural membrane

Dura mater

The dura mater , or dura, is the outermost of the three layers of the meninges surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It is derived from Mesoderm. The other two meningeal layers are the pia mater and the arachnoid mater. The dura surrounds the brain and the spinal cord and is responsible for...

.