A bone cutter 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 ...

used to cut or remove

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

s. In addition to surgery, they are also used in

forensics Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

and

dismemberment Dismemberment is the act of completely disconnecting and/or removing the limbs, skin, and/or organs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with regicid ...

. Types of medical bone cutters include: * Unpowered – Unpowered bone cutting implements include varieties of

hacksaw A hacksaw is a fine-toothed saw, originally and mainly made for cutting metal. The equivalent saw for cutting wood is usually called a bow saw. Most hacksaws are hand saws with a C-shaped walking frame that holds a blade under tension. Suc ...

. In many applications, the saw is used in specialised

jig The jig (, ) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It first gained popularity in 16th-century England, Ireland, Scotland, and other parts of the British Isles, and was adopted on mainland Eu ...

s to provide accurate, measurable cuts, e.g. in knee surgery. Specialized saws such as the

Gigli saw A Gigli saw is a flexible wire saw used by surgeons for bone cutter, bone cutting. A Gigli saw is used mainly for amputation, where the bones have to be smoothly cut at the level of amputation. It is also used in veterinary medicine for cutting a ...

, a cable made of sharp strands of wire, are also used in some procedures. * Reciprocating – Usually a powered rotary oscillation is applied to a specialised cutting implement to provide smooth controllable cuts into bone, for applications, from skull cutting to rib cutting. A

sternal saw A sternal saw is a bone cutter used to perform median sternotomy, opening the patient's chest by splitting the breastbone, or sternum. It is a reciprocating blade saw that resembles a jigsaw in appearance. It was invented and introduced by Dr. Ed ...

is a reciprocating bone cutter. * Sonic (or sound cutting) – The sonic cutter is still experimental, but its primary focus is to use high frequency, high amplitude sound to remove material (in this case bone), providing the ability to cut. Some tissue sonic cutters are being produced. *

Costotome A bone cutter is a surgical instrument used to cut or remove bones. In addition to surgery, they are also used in forensics and dismemberment. Types of medical bone cutters include: * Unpowered – Unpowered bone cutting implements include ...

– A costotome is a specialised rib cutter used to gain access to the thoracic cavity. It has two levers; the first one to be operated grasps the rib, and the second one cuts the rib.

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Orthopaedic instruments {{Orthopedics-stub

See also

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External links