Descriptions of Different Kinds of Bedpans or Urinals

You may think that there would be a limited number of ways to design a bedpan or a urinal, but you would be mistaken. The many types of bedpans in existence are influenced by the diversity of human urination needs and the irresistible urge to constantly create something new that is the hallmark of the industrial designer.

Antique Bedpans

• Before the advent of plastic, bedpans were usually made of ceramic. Some beautiful examples of these antiques still exist in collections. Most ceramic bedpans are white or cream in color, with curved edges and thick sides that make them much heavier than modern examples. Although the materials were different, bedpans were used in the same way centuries ago as they are today. The somewhat unappealing function of the bedpan didn't prevent 18th and 19th century craftspeople from creating beautiful objects to do it. Fancier antique bedpans sometimes feature decorative painting.

Male and Female Bedpans

• Bedpans can be designed to suit male or female anatomy. Because male and female urination needs are different, the shape of a bedpan has to differ to accommodate them. This provides added excitement for bedpan collectors, who are given twice as many types of bedpans to find because of this anatomical difference. Male bedpans feature an elongated hole or tube into which the penis is placed for urination, while female bedpans feature a differently shaped opening which can be placed against the woman's body so she can urinate while lying down.

Plastic Bedpans

• In the age of plastic, antique ceramic bedpans have been replaced by plastic bedpans, many of which are made to be disposable. Plastic bedpans are utilitarian in shape and function and lack the appeal and character of antique bedpans. They are usually red or blue and from 12 to 15 inches in length.

Trough Urinals

• Urinals are at least as varied as bedpans in their design, if not more. Trough urinals can be found in older public settings, and are also much more frequently encountered outside of North America. A trough urinal is just what it sounds like -- a long trough with a drain at one end. Water enters the other end, and all of the urine is washed down to the drain. Trough urinals may be made of metal or ceramic. Some of them are raised several feet off the floor, while others are set at floor level. The length of trough urinals can range from 4 to 5 feet to the length of an entire room.

Designer Urinals

• Upscale restaurants and clubs try do outdo each other in the luxuriousness of their restrooms. Frequent drinkers of beer are bound to visit the facilities at some point in the evening, and they certainly don't want to be confronted with a rustic trough after paying $15 for a beer at a posh nightclub. Upscale urinals often feature marble or granite surfaces and creative designs. Some upscale urinals appear to be influenced by the polished marble works of modern sculptors, while others are expressions of minimalism in white ceramic in attractive oval, round or teardrop shapes.