Forceps are handheld medical instruments designed to grasp, hold, compress, manipulate, or extract tissues or objects during medical, surgical, dental, and laboratory procedures.
Forceps are among the oldest and most versatile medical instruments. Although they are often compared to tweezers, medical forceps come in many shapes and sizes, each designed for a specific purpose. Some are used to hold delicate tissues during surgery, while others are designed to clamp blood vessels, remove foreign objects, handle sterile equipment, or assist in childbirth.
Different forceps vary in their tips, locking mechanisms, and intended use. For example, dressing forceps help handle sterile dressings, tissue forceps grip tissue during surgery, artery forceps control bleeding, and obstetric forceps assist in delivering a baby when medically indicated.
QUICK FACT
Hundreds of different types of forceps exist, each designed for a specific medical task.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
Tweezers: Tweezers are simple handheld gripping tools without a locking mechanism. Many medical forceps include locking handles or specialized tips for precise clinical use.
SEE ALSO
- Forceps Delivery
- Assisted Vaginal Delivery
- Surgery
- Artery Forceps
