Surgical Instruments

Surgical instruments are used to cut, hold, or otherwise manipulate human tissue. There are a many categories and subcategories of surgical instrument, developed for either general surgical use or very specific scenarios.

The use of surgical instruments is a practice that is thousands of years old, stretching back into pre-history. In the last few centuries, great strides were made in designing new instruments and improving existing ones to better meet the need of surgeons. This process of continuous improvement and innovation has continued into the present day.

One of the biggest challenges faced by manufacturers of surgical instruments is developing materials that would withstand the corrosive nature of the internal environment of the body, as well as the intensive cleaning practices required to prevent infection. For this reason, the functionality of new devices must be tested after simulating normal use, to make sure they will not break or otherwise complicate surgery.