A kidney dish (

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

) or emesis basin (

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

) is a shallow basin with a

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

-shaped base and sloping walls used in medical and

surgical Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery ...

wards to receive soiled dressings and other

medical waste Biomedical waste or hospital waste is any kind of waste containing infectious (or potentially infectious) materials generated during the treatment of humans or animals as well as during research involving biologics. It may also include waste ass ...

. Generally, the volume of a pulp kidney dish (or "vomit dish") is 700 mL. Its length is 25 cm-26 cm, its width 11 cm. The shape of the dish allows it to be held against the patient's body to catch any falling fluids or debris. Various sizes of emesis basins are common in healthcare settings, including facilities such as

nursing homes A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

that may have bedridden patients.

Design

Reusable kidney dishes are usually made of

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

. During the first half of the 20th century, kidney dishes were commonly made of enamelled iron.

Bessie Blount Bessie Blount may refer to: * Bessie Blount (mistress of Henry VIII) (c. 1500–c. 1540), Henry VIII of England's mistress and mother of his son, Henry Fitzroy * Bessie Blount Griffin (1914–2009), American physical therapist, inventor, an ...

invented a disposable kidney dish. It was a kidney-shaped disposable cardboard dish made out of flour, water, and newspaper that was baked until the material was hard. Disposable

molded pulp Molded pulp or molded fiber (also spelled as moulded pulp or moulded fibre) is a packaging material, that is typically made from recycled paperboard and/or newsprint. It is used for protective packaging or for food service trays and beverag ...

kidney dishes have been replacing reusable kidney dishes because single-use products can decrease cross-communication of pathogens. Each year, more than 100 million pulp kidney dishes are used in hospital or family care.

Uses

Contrary to its name, emesis basins are not usually used for

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, pre ...

, as the depth, size, and sloping walls all contribute to spilling or splashing the vomit rather than catching it. For this purpose, a plastic bag or wash basin is often preferred, especially by ambulance crews who may need to receive the vomit while driving rapidly, and then hand it over for analysis. Emesis basins are suited for more controlled situations. When washing out a small wound, for example, sometimes the wash water is applied from above with an emesis basin held underneath to catch the runoff. The

concave Concave or concavity may refer to: Science and technology * Concave lens * Concave mirror Mathematics * Concave function, the negative of a convex function * Concave polygon A simple polygon that is not convex is called concave, non-convex or ...

inner rim helps to conform to the curve of the body.

References

{{Reflist Medical equipment Waste containers