Abstract: A hypodermic syringe is described in which the needle (1) is protected by a guard. The guard includes a needle shroud (7) which is pivotable between open and closed positions and includes releasable locking means (9, 10, 12, 26, 31, 42, 43 and 44) to hold the guard respectively in open and closed positions. An operating arm (8) is attached to the needle shroud (7) to facilitate pivoting of the shroud form the open to the closed positions. Generally, shroud (7) is integrally moulded with arm (8) and needle boss (25) or with a sleeve (24) which can be fitted over boss (25).