A curette is a

surgical instrument A surgical instrument is a medical device for performing specific actions or carrying out desired effects during a surgery or operation, such as modifying biological tissue, or to provide access for viewing it. Over time, many different kinds of ...

designed for scraping or debriding

biological tissue In biology, tissue is an assembly of similar cells and their extracellular matrix from the same embryonic origin that together carry out a specific function. Tissues occupy a biological organizational level between cells and a complete or ...

or debris in a

biopsy A biopsy is a medical test commonly performed by a surgeon, interventional radiologist, an interventional radiologist, or an interventional cardiology, interventional cardiologist. The process involves the extraction of sampling (medicine), sample ...

, excision, or cleaning procedure. In form, the curette is a small

hand tool A hand tool is any tool that is powered manual labour, by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutter (disambiguation), cutters, File (tool), files, hammer, striking tools, chisel, struck or hammered tools, ...

, often similar in shape to a

stylus A stylus is a writing utensil or tool for scribing or marking into softer materials. Different styluses were used to write in cuneiform by pressing into wet clay, and to scribe or carve into a wax tablet. Very hard styluses are also used to En ...

; at the tip of the curette is a small scoop, hook, or

gouge Gouge may refer to: *Gouge (chisel), a form of chisel or adze; a woodworking tool *Gouge (grape), another name for the European wine grape Gouais blanc **Gouge noir, another name for the French wine grape Gouget noir *Eye-gouging (rugby union), an ...

. The verb ''to curette'' means "to scrape with a curette", and curettage ( or ) is treatment that involves such scraping.

Uses

Some examples of medical use of a curette include: * the removal of impacted

ear wax In vertebrates, an ear is the organ (anatomy), organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) Sense of balance, body balance using the vestibular system. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and ...

; *

dilation and curettage Dilation (or dilatation) may refer to: Physiology or medicine * Cervical dilation, the widening of the cervix in childbirth, miscarriage etc. * Coronary dilation, or coronary reflex * Dilation and curettage, the opening of the cervix and s ...

of the

uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...

, a

gynecologic Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

procedure; *excision of many

benign tumors A benign tumor is a mass of cells (tumor) that does not invade neighboring tissue or metastasize (spread throughout the body). Compared to malignant (cancerous) tumors, benign tumors generally have a slower growth rate. Benign tumors have rela ...

and some

malignant tumors Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal ...

; * excision of the

adenoids In anatomy, the pharyngeal tonsil, also known as the nasopharyngeal tonsil or adenoid, is the superior-most of the tonsils. It is a mass of lymphoid tissue located behind the nasal cavity, in the roof and the posterior wall of the nasopharynx, ...

(

adenoidectomy Adenoidectomy is the surgical removal of the adenoid for reasons which include impaired breathing through the nose, chronic infections, or recurrent earaches. The effectiveness of removing the adenoids in children to improve recurrent nasal sympt ...

) by an

otolaryngologist Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the surgical an ...

; * to scrape tartar deposits from

tooth enamel Tooth enamel is one of the four major Tissue (biology), tissues that make up the tooth in humans and many animals, including some species of fish. It makes up the normally visible part of the tooth, covering the Crown (tooth), crown. The other ...

with a

periodontal curette The periodontal curette is a type of hand-activated instrument used in dentistry and dental hygiene for the purpose of scaling and root planing.Darby ML, Walsh MM, editors. ''Dental Hygiene: Theory and Practice.'' 4th ed. St. Louis: Saunders/Elsevi ...

References

External links

Curette images from the Waring Historical Library at the Medical University of South Carolina
Surgical instruments {{Surgical instruments

Uses

See also

References

External links