Autoclave Charles Chamberland in 1884, although a precursor known as the steam digester was created by Denis Papin in 1679. The name comes from Greek "auto-", ultimately meaning self, and Latin "clavis" meaning key, thus a self-locking device. Sterilization autoclaves are widely used in microbiology, medicine, podiatry, tattooing, body piercing, veterinary medicine, mycology, funerary practice, dentistry, and prosthetics fabrication. They vary in size and function depending on the media to be sterilized and are sometimes called retort in the chemical and food industries. Typical loads include laboratory glassware, other equipment and waste, surgical instruments, and medical waste. A notable recent and
Matheson (compressed gas & equipment) serving the laboratory, process, and environmental gas user and other specialties. Matheson (compressed gas & equipment) Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc. is a supplier of industrial gases, medical gases, specialty & electronic gases, propane, gas handling equipment, gas purification systems, industrial safety equipment, and gas engineering services. It is headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, with more than 300 retail, plant and warehouse locations in the United States. Matheson supplies its gas products through all distribution methods: cylinder, bulk and pipeline. Matheson is the North American operating entity, and the largest subsidiary of Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation (), one of the top