The modern day Bodok seal is a specialised washer that has the crucial role of ensuring an air-tight seal between the regulator of an anaesthetic machine and a gas cylinder. It was introduced into anaesthetic machines along with the pin index safety system during the 1950s. An anaesthetic machine The anaesthetic machine (or anesthesia machine in America) is used by anaesthetists to support the administration of anaesthesia. ... Industrial compressed gas cylinders used for oxy-fuel welding and cutting of steel. ... The Pin Index Safety System is used commonly for pneumatic connections between a gas cylinder and a machine that uses pressurized gases, i. ... The 1950s were the decade that traditionally speaking, spanned the years 1950 through 1959. ...

Attachment and detachment of a gas cylinder to the anaesthetic machine leads to constant wear and tear, due in part to gaseous compression and expansion. (Adiabatic effects in rapidly expanding compressed gases can generate very high temperatures, up to 1000° Celsius.) Prior to the introduction of the Bodok seal, the traditional fibre washer would frequently splay and adhere to the regulator and thus require the use of a good pair of pliers and some considerable force. In thermodynamics, an adiabatic process is a process in which no heat is transferred to or from working fluid. ...

The Bodok seal consists of a neoprene washer with a peripheral magnesium metal ring which prevents additional splaying of the washer. It is noncombustible, and very resistant to explosions, fire, oils, petrol, sunlight, ozone and high heat. Neoprene is the DuPont Chemical trade name for a family of synthetic rubbers based on polychloroprene. ... General Name, Symbol, Number magnesium, Mg, 12 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 24. ...

External links

• Bodok seal note (See "Historical Forum" following "Nerve Plexus" article)