Fecal examination device

Claim 1

A fecal sample container for collecting and transporting a sample of feces and for serving as a base, for an open-ended tube subsequently fitted thereto, during the analysis of said sample by a method in which the sample of feces is mixed with flotation liquid in a receptacle formed by said tube and said base and ova in said sample are caused to rise upward through said liquid in said receptacle, said container consisting of two unitary bodies, both of molded plastic, one of which is a unitary cup body including an empty open-top cup adapted to receive and transport the sample of feces to be examined, said cup being adapted to be slid into and received in an open lower end of said tube to form said receptacle by closing the lower end of said tube with a liquid-tight press fit with the outer walls of said cup in close contact with the inner walls of said tube, said cup having an interior volume of about one half to 5 cc for receiving and retaining a corresponding volume of feces and a width of about 1 to 2 cm and said cup having an integral extension in the form of a flat-bottomed tray having an upstanding outer rim, said tray being constructed and arranged to serve as a supporting base for said tube when the latter is fitted to said cup and said rim being constructed and arranged to retain liquid overflowing from said tube, the top of said rim being below the top of said cup, the other of said unitary bodies being a closure cap for fitment over the open top of the cup, said closure cap engaging and spanning said spaced portions and extending over the top of said cup to confine fecal matter therein during the transport of said sample prior to the fitting of said receptacle on said cup, said closure cap having a downwardly extending circumferential wall surrounding said rim and having means for engaging said rim with a snap fit to hold said cap on said body with said cap fitting over the entire top of said tray, closing said cup and covering the space between said well and said rim, said cup body having an extension outwardly of said rim serving as a finger piece for use in separating said cup body and said closure cap prior to the fitting of said receptacle on said cup, one of said unitary bodies having integral therewih a feces sample-collecting paddle whose width is at least one fifth of, but less than, the inner diameter of said cup, said paddle being connected to said cup or closure cap by a narrower readily frangible zone and thereby being easily removed for use in collecting said sample.