Typically, 2 ml, 5 ml, 10 ml, or 20 ml syringes are used, occasionally 50 ml or 100 ml, and 1 ml syringes are used for intradermal injections.
Syringe barrels can be made of either plastic or glass and usually have a graduated indication of the volume of fluid in the syringe. Glass syringes can be sterilized with an autoclave, but because plastic syringes are cheaper to dispose of, most modern medical syringes are made of plastic, which further reduces the risk of blood-borne diseases. Disease transmission among intravenous drug users, particularly HIV and hepatitis, has been linked to the reuse of needles and syringes.