Rectal insertion device and control valve means therefor

In colonic lavage apparatus, a speculum for insertion into the anal canal of a patient comprising:

• an elongated thin-walled tubular body having an outer wall terminating at one end in a tapered leading end and at an opposite end in a tubular trailing end, a liquid delivery conduit communicating with said trailing end, said body having a maximum diameter area adjacent to but rearwardly of said tapered leading end and a portion tapering rearwardly from said maximum diameter area, said tapered leading end provided with diametrically opposed apertures forwardly of said maximum diameter area and having a rounded, snubnosed tip, each said aperture having a rearward portion diverging forwardly for the greater length of said aperture, said tip formed in the shape of an ellipse taken as a quadrant of an ellipse rotated with displacement about a longitudinal axis of said body;
• and
• an inflatable cuff disposed in surrounding relation to said portion of said body tapering rearwardly from said maximum diameter area, means communicating with the interior of said cuff for inflating said cuff to expand in an outward circumferential direction away from said body, the cuff having a differential thickness increasing from a forward end engaging a groove in said body to an opposite rearward end engaging a second groove in said body axially spaced from said first groove.

A colonic lavage apparatus including a speculum for insertion into the anal canal of a patient wherein the speculum comprises an elongated tubular body having a hollow interior and terminating at one end in a tapered leading end and at an opposite end in a tubular trailing end, said body having a maximum diameter area adjacent to but rearwardly of said tapered leading end and a portion tapering rearwardly from said maximum diameter area, and means communicating with the interior of said cuff for inflating said cuff to expand in an outward circumferential direction away from said body, the cuff being composed of elastomeric material and of tubular configuration having a pair of opposite ends, said opposite ends of said cuff being disposed in snug-fitting, sealed engagement with axially spaced grooves in said body.