Forceps or forcipes are a handheld, hinged instrument used for grasping and holding objects. Forceps are used when fingers are too large to grasp small objects or when many objects need to be held at one time while the hands are used to perform a task. The term 'forceps' is used almost exclusively within the medical field. Outside medicine, people usually refer to forceps as tweezers

Tweezers

Tweezers are tools used for picking up and manipulating objects too small to be easily handled with the human hands. They are probably derived from tongs, pincers, or scissors-like pliers used to grab or hold hot objects since the dawn of recorded history...

, tongs

Tongs

Tongs are used for gripping and lifting tools, of which there are many forms adapted to their specific use. Some are merely large pincers or nippers, but the greatest number fall into three classes:...

, pliers

Pliers

Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, for bending, or physical compression. Generally, pliers consist of a pair of metal first-class levers joined at a fulcrum positioned closer to one end of the levers, creating short jaws on one side of the fulcrum, and longer handles on the other...

, clips or clamps

Clamp (tool)

A clamp is a fastening device to hold or secure objects tightly together to prevent movement or separation through the application of inward pressure...

.

'Forceps' can be used as both the singular and plural form of the word. (Example: "I need a forceps.") Also, it is not referred to as a "pair" as one refers to a "pair of scissors". Etymologically, the word derives from the Latin forca, meaning a snare

Snare

Snare may refer to:* Snare trap, a kind of trap used for capturing animals* Snare drum* SNARE , a family of proteins involved in vesicle fusion* The Snares, a group of islands approximately 200 kilometres south of New Zealand...

 or trap

Trap (tactic)

A trap is a device intended to catch an intruder or prey. "Trap" may also refer to the tactic of catching or harming an adversary. Conversely it may also mean a hindrance for change, being caught in a trap.-Device:*Animal trapping*Bird trapping...

.

Mechanically, forceps employ the principle of the lever

Lever

In physics, a lever is a rigid object that is used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to either multiply the mechanical force that can be applied to another object or resistance force , or multiply the distance and speed at which the opposite end of the rigid object travels.This leverage...

 to grasp and apply pressure.

Surgical

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

 forceps are commonly made of high-grade carbon steel, which ensures they can withstand repeated sterilization

Sterilization (microbiology)

Sterilization is a term referring to any process that eliminates or kills all forms of microbial life, including transmissible agents present on a surface, contained in a fluid, in medication, or in a compound such as biological culture media...

 in high-temperature autoclave

Autoclave

An autoclave is an instrument used to sterilize equipment and supplies by subjecting them to high pressure saturated steam at 121 °C for around 15–20 minutes depending on the size of the load and the contents. It was invented by Charles Chamberland in 1879, although a precursor known as the...

s. Lower quality steel is used in forceps made for other uses. Some forceps, intended to be used once and then discarded, are made of plastic

Plastic

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

. The invention of surgical forceps is attributed to Stephen Hales

Stephen Hales

Stephen Hales, FRS was an English physiologist, chemist and inventor.Hales studied the role of air and water in the maintenance of both plant and animal life. He gave accurate accounts of the movements of water in plants, and demonstrated that plants absorb air...

There are two basic types of forceps: non-locking (often called 'thumb forceps' or 'pick-ups') and locking, though these two types come in dozens of specialized forms for various uses. Non-locking forceps also come in two basic forms, hinged at one end, away from the grasping end (colloquially such forceps are called tweezers, though a medical professional would not likely refer to them as such) and hinged in the middle, rather like scissors (though, unlike scissors, forceps are tipped with flat, grasping surfaces rather than interposing blades). Locking forceps are almost always hinged in the middle, though some forms place the hinge very close to the grasping end. Locking forceps use various means to lock the grasping surfaces in a closed position to facilitate manipulation or to independently clamp, grasp or hold an object.

Thumb forceps

Thumb forceps are commonly held between the thumb and two or three fingers of one hand, with the top end resting on the anatomical snuff box

Anatomical snuff box

The anatomical snuffbox is a triangular deepening on the radial, dorsal aspect of the hand—at the level of the carpal bones, specifically, the scaphoid and trapezium bones forming the floor...

 at the base of the thumb and index finger. Spring tension at one end holds the grasping ends apart until pressure is applied. This allows one to quickly and easily grasp small objects or tissue to move and release it or to grasp and hold tissue with easily variable pressure. Thumb forceps are used to hold tissue in place when applying sutures, to gently move tissues out of the way during exploratory surgery and to move dressings or draping without using the hands or fingers.

Thumb forceps can have smooth tips, cross-hatched tips or serrated tips (often called 'mouse's teeth'). Common arrangements of teeth are 1×2 (two teeth on one side meshing with a single tooth on the other), 7×7 and 9×9. Serrated forceps are used on tissue; counter-intuitively, teeth will damage tissue less than a smooth surface (you can grasp with less overall pressure). Smooth or cross-hatched forceps are used to move dressings, remove sutures and similar tasks.

Adson tissue forceps

Note the 1×2 "mouse's teeth" on the lower tip.

Locking forceps

Locking forceps, sometimes called clamps, are used to grasp and hold objects or tissue. When they are used to compress an artery

Artery

Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This blood is normally oxygenated, exceptions made for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries....

 to forestall bleeding they are called hemostat

Hemostat

A hemostat , is a vital surgical tool used in almost any surgical procedure, usually to control bleeding. Therefore, it is not uncommon to see the initial incision lined with hemostats closing blood vessels awaiting ligation during the initial phases of surgery...

s. Another form of locking forceps is the needle holder, used to guide a suturing needle through tissue. Many locking forceps use finger loops to facilitate handling (see illustration, below, of Kelly Forceps). The finger loops are usually grasped by the thumb and middle or ring fingers, while the index finger helps guide the instrument.

The most common locking mechanism is a series of interlocking teeth located near the finger loops. As the forceps are closed, the teeth engage and keep the instrument's grasping surfaces from separating. A simple shift of the fingers is all that is needed to dis-engage the teeth and allow the grasping ends to move apart. Forceps are also used for surgery.

Kelly forceps

Kelly forceps are a type of hemostat

Hemostat

A hemostat , is a vital surgical tool used in almost any surgical procedure, usually to control bleeding. Therefore, it is not uncommon to see the initial incision lined with hemostats closing blood vessels awaiting ligation during the initial phases of surgery...

 usually made of stainless steel. They resemble a pair of scissors with the blade replaced by a blunted grip. They also feature a locking mechanism to allow them to act as clamps.
Kelly forceps may be floor grade (regular use) and as such not used for surgery

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

. They may also be sterilized and used in operations, in both human and veterinary medicine. They may be either curved or straight. In surgery, they may be used for occluding blood vessel

Blood vessel

The blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transports blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the arteries, which carry the blood away from the heart; the capillaries, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and...

s, manipulating [tissues], or for assorted other purposes.
They are named for Howard Atwood Kelly

Howard Atwood Kelly

Howard Atwood Kelly was an American gynecologist. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Howard Atwood Kelly (February 20, 1858 – January 12, 1943) was an American gynecologist. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at Johns Hopkins Hospital....

, M.D., first professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Johns Hopkins.
The "Mosquito" variant of the tool is more delicate and has smaller, finer tips. Other varieties with similar, if more specialized, uses are Allis clamps, Babcocks, Kockers, Carmalts, and tonsils; all but the last bear the names of the surgeons who designed them.

Medical forceps

Here are few categories that are commonly used:

• Anesthesia forceps
• Artery forceps
• Atraumatic forceps
• Biopsy forceps
• Bone-cutting forceps
• Bone-holding forceps
• Bulldogs forceps
  Bulldogs forceps
  Bulldogs forceps are fine-tip, spring-loaded forceps used for manipulating fine tissue during surgical procedures....
  
  
• Catheter forceps
• Cilia forceps
• Curettes forceps
• Cushing forceps
• Dermal forceps & nippers
• Dressing forceps
• Ear forceps
• Eye forceps
• Gallbladder forceps
• Hemostatic forceps
  Hemostat
  A hemostat , is a vital surgical tool used in almost any surgical procedure, usually to control bleeding. Therefore, it is not uncommon to see the initial incision lined with hemostats closing blood vessels awaiting ligation during the initial phases of surgery...
  
  
• Hysterectomy forceps
• Intestinal forceps
• Microsurgery forceps
• Nasal forceps
• Obstetrical forceps
  Forceps in childbirth
  Forceps are a surgical instrument that resembles a pair of tongs and can be used in surgery for grabbing, maneuvering, or removing various things within or from the body...
  
  
• Postmortem forceps
• Splinter forceps
• Sponge forceps
• Sterilizer forceps
• Suture sundries forceps
• Tenaculum
  Tenaculum
  A tenaculum is a surgical instrument, usually classified as a type of forceps. It consists of a slender sharp-pointed hook attached to a handle and is used mainly in surgery for seizing and holding parts, such as blood vessels.Uses include:...
  
  forceps
• Thoracic forceps
• Thoracic surgical forceps
• Thumb forceps
• Tissue forceps
• Tongue forceps
• Tooth extracting forceps
• Tubing forceps
• Uterine forceps
• Vusellum forceps
• Wire cutting forceps