The Greene needle was a noncutting point needle preceding the Whitacre needle. An American anesthetist, Rolland J. Whitacre, M.D., credited Greene’s advances in minimizing trauma to the dural fibers when he developed his innovative needle with conical tip, in collaboration with BD, and published it in 1951. Ever since, the shape and details of the needle have been constantly improved and refined, especially the shapes of the tip and the agent outlet.