First intravenous injection, 17th-century illustration. Across top, a syringe is being used to carry out an injection into arm veins. The same is being done in the main picture for leg veins. Tourniquets, to make the veins stand out and make injections easier, are also seen. These intravenous infusions were carried out as part of the experiments for the first blood transfusions. Illustration from 'Clysmatica nova' (1667) by the German botanist Johann Sigismund Elsholtz (1623-1688).