A needle guard (12) having a housing (14) definingan interior cavity, and a transitional member (16) disposed withinthe interior cavity is disclosed. The transitional member includes apivoting arm (36) having a first end and a second end, the first endadjacent an interior portion of the housing. The transitional memberalso includes a needle tip sensing element (38), and a transversebarrier (40), such that the needle tip sensing element and thetransverse barrier are oriented on opposing sides of the pivotingarm adjacent the second end. The needle guard may be adapted fortransition from a restrained position when the needle tip is exteriorto the interior cavity, to an activated position when the needle tip iswithin the interior cavity. The transitional member may also have aneedle tip sensing element for contacting a needle in the restrainedposition, and a binding edge for engaging the needle in the activatedposition.
