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A pair of pinchers, or tongs; an instrument for grasping, holding firmly, or exerting traction upon, bodies which it would be inconvenient or impracticable to seize with the fingers, especially one for delicate operations, as those of watchmakers, surgeons, accoucheurs, dentists, etc.

The caudal forceps-shaped appendage of earwigs and some other insects. See Earwig.

A pair of pinchers, or tongs; an instrument for grasping, holding firmly, or exerting traction upon, bodies which it would be inconvenient or impracticable to seize with the fingers, especially one for delicate operations, as those of watchmakers, surgeons, accoucheurs, dentists, etc.

The caudal forceps-shaped appendage of earwigs and some other insects. See Earwig.

Hand-held tools or implements used by health professionals for the performance of surgical tasks.

Pincers or pliers for seizing and extracting anything.

Surgical pincers; instrument with two prongs for removing, etc.

A pair of tongs, pincers, or pliers for holding anything hot or otherwise difficult to be held with the hand.

Small pincers or tweezers.

Pincers for grasping or removing small objects or foreign bodies.

The clasper-shaped anal cerci of some Insects; the large fighting or seizing claws of crabs and lobsters.

See Corpus callosum-f. Anterior, see Corpus callosum- f. Arterial, see Forceps- f. Bullet, see Forceps- f. Craniotomy, see Forceps- f. Deceptoria, see Forceps- f. Lithotomy, see Forceps-f. of Museux, see Forceps-f. Polypus, see Forceps-f. Tooth, see Forceps.

An instrument, for removing bodies which it would be inconvenient or impracticable to seize with the fingers. (F.) Pince, Pincette. There are various kinds of forceps, 1. The ordinary kind, contained in every dressing-case, for removing lint, &c. from wounds or ulcers. (F.) Pince a pansement ou a anneaux. 2. Dissecting or Ligature or Arterial Forceps, (F.) Pince a dissection, P. a ligature, to lay hold of delicate parts. 3. Polypus Forceps, Tooth Forceps, Forceps of Museux for laying hold of the tonsils or other parts to be removed. 4., The Bullet Forceps, Strombulcus, (F.) Tireballe. 5. The Lithotomy Forceps, Litholabon, Lithagogum, Tenacula, Volsella, which resembles the Craniotomy Forceps, (F.) Tenettes. 6. The Cataract Forceps, (F.) Pince a Cataracte, resembling the dissecting forceps, but much finer. 7. The Pince a gaine, the branches of which can be brought together, and retained by a movable sheath. Forceps is also an instrument used by obstetrical practitioners to embrace the head, and bring it through the pelvis. It consists of two branches, blades or levers; one of which, in the case of the short forceps, is passed over the ear of the child, and the other opposite the former, so that the blades may lock. When the head is securely included between the blades, the operation of extraction can be commenced. See Parturition.

A two-pronged instrument for grasping or seizing.

Any forcipate organ or part.

An instrument made of two arms, either hinged at the ends or crossed on the principle of the scissors; used for grasping a part, or for compression or extracting.

n. [Latin] A pair of pincers or tongs; specially, one for delicate operations, as those of watchmakers, dentists, surgeons, &c.

Forceps properly signifies a pair of tongs, but is used for an instrument in chirurgery, to extract any thing out of wounds.