Surgical Instruments Lecture Notes

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering surgical instruments including cutting, grasping, clamping, retracting, and suturing tools based on the NRG301 course notes.

Scalpels

Instruments used for the initial incision and cutting of tissue.

Bandage Scissors

Scissors designed for cutting bandages on patients without cutting the patient.

Curved Mayo Scissors

Scissors used to cut heavy tissues such as fascia, muscle, uterus, and breast; available in regular and long sizes.

Iris Scissors

Scissors used for fine dissection and cutting fine suture; originally designed for ophthalmic procedures.

Metzenbaum Scissors

Instruments used to cut delicate tissue, available in regular and long sizes.

Straight Mayo Scissors

Also known as Suture Scissors, these are used to cut suture and supplies.

Suture Removal Scissors

Scissors featuring a hooked-shaped point on one blade used to hook under the stitch before cutting.

Adson Forceps

Forceps toothed at the tip used for handling dense tissue, such as in skin closures.

Bonney Forceps

Heavy forceps used for holding thick tissue, specifically for fascial closure.

DeBakey Forceps

Forceps used for atraumatic tissue grasping during dissection.

Russian Tissue Forceps

A type of forceps used specifically to grasp tissue.

Thumb Forceps

Forceps used to grasp tough tissue like fascia or breast; single tooth versions are called "rat tooth forceps."

Ear and Nasal Forceps

Special forceps characterized by a bent shape for ease in ear and nose procedures.

Clamping and Occluding Instruments

Instruments used to compress blood vessels or hollow organs for hemostasis or to prevent spillage of contents.

Burlisher

A clamp used for deep blood vessels featuring two closed finger rings; versions with an open finger ring are called tonsil hemostats.

Hemostat

Also known as Crile, snap, or stat; an atraumatic and nontoothed clamp used to grasp tissue or vessels to be tied off or for blunt dissection.

Kelly Clamp

Also known as Rochester Pean; used to clamp larger vessels and tissue.

Mosquito

A small clamp with straight or curved jaws used to clamp small blood vessels.

Right Angle

Also called Mixter; used to clamp hard-to-reach vessels or place sutures behind a vessel. When a suture is attached, it is called a "tie on a passer."

Allis

A tissue clamp used to grasp tissue; a "Judd-Allis" holds intestinal tissue, while a "heavy Allis" holds breast tissue.

Babcock

A clamp used to grasp delicate tissue such as the intestine, fallopian tube, or ovary.

Kocher clamp

Also known as Ochsner; used to grasp heavy tissue and may also be used as a clamp.

Hemoclip Applier with Hemoclips

An occluding instrument that applies metal clips onto blood vessels and ducts.

Backhaus Towel Clip

Used to hold towels and drapes in place or to fix drapes to the skin on anesthetized patients.

Foerster Sponge Stick

Also known as Sponge Forceps, these are used to grasp sponges.

Suture Sizing

Available in sizes between #5 and #11-0, where higher numbers indicate larger diameters and more zeros indicate smaller diameters.

Curved Needles

The needle shape used in most general surgical procedures.

Straight Needles

The needle shape used for skin and subcuticular suturing.

Mayo-Hegar Needle Holders

Instruments used to hold needles firmly during suturing.

Army-Navy Retractor

A manual retractor, also called USA, used for shallow or superficial incisions to gain exposure of skin layers.

Deaver Retractor

A manual retractor used for deep abdominal or chest incisions.

Malleable or Ribbon Retractor

A manual retractor used for deep wounds that may be bent into various shapes.

Richardson Retractor

A manual retractor used for deep abdominal or chest incisions.

Balfour with Bladder Blade

A self-retaining retractor used to retract wound edges during deep abdominal procedures.

Gelpi Retractor

A self-retaining retractor used to retract shallow incisions.

Weitlaner Retractor

Also called "Wheaty," this self-retaining retractor is used for shallow incisions or exposing deep or smaller surgical sites.

Bookwalter Retractor

A self-retaining retractor system that is anchored to the operating table.

Specula and Scopes

Instruments used to expose body orifices by widening them for a better view.