In 1853, Alexander Wood in Scotland and Charles Gabriel Pravaz in France helped develop practical hypodermic syringes. Their work made it possible to deliver medicines directly into the body with greater speed and precision. Later injectable anticoagulants, especially heparin and low-molecular-weight heparins, depended on this basic technology.

The development of the hypodermic syringe in 1853 became one of the most recognizable symbols of modern medicine in literature and art. For poets, it sharpened the imagery of the pierced body, emergency treatment, and the fragile boundary between danger and rescue, prompting reflections on vulnerability and healing.