Tweezer, 19th Century

3D Model

Tweezers are one of the oldest surgical tools. Ancient India and Mesopotamia had tweezers as far back as 3,000 B.C.E. Ancient Romans called it vulsella, the Latin name for the Finger Oyster, (Vulsella vulsella). In Latin, the same term was used for tweezers or forceps. The textbooks of Arab surgeons and physicians carrie drawings of tweezer-like instruments. We see it in Guy de Chauliac, 14th century French surgeon’s text and subsequently in the great Ambroise Pare’s 1575 Oeuvres. It is displayed in Johannes Scultetus’ 1656 Armamentarium Chirurgicum (p.10, Fig 1). The spring operated metallic tongues in this 19th century tweezer were most likely used in a dental office to pick up small items neded for treatment. For a detailed history see: Kirkup, John (1996). The history and evolution of surgical instruments. VII Spring forceps (tweezers), hooks and simple retractors. Ann. Royal Coll. Surg. Eng. 78(6):544-52. Description provided by Andrew I Spielman.