A cranioclast (from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
κρανίον ''kranion'' "head, scull" and -κλάστης ''-klastes'' "breaker") is
surgical instrument
A surgical instrument is a tool or 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 ...
akin to a strong
forceps
Forceps (plural forceps or considered a plural noun without a singular, often a pair of forceps; the Latin plural ''forcipes'' is no longer recorded in most dictionaries) are a handheld, hinged instrument used for grasping and holding objects. Fo ...
. It was once used to crush and then extract the skull of a
fetus
A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal develo ...
so as to facilitate delivery in cases of obstructed labour.
''Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary'': "cranioclast"
/ref>
Pictures
Image:Medical_Instruments_O&G_Cranioclast_open.jpg, Open
Image:Medical_Instruments_O&G_Cranioclast_closed.jpg, Closed
See also
* Cephalotribe
* Puerperal fever
Postpartum infections, also known as childbed fever and puerperal fever, are any bacterial infections of the female reproductive tract following childbirth or miscarriage. Signs and symptoms usually include a fever greater than , chills, lower a ...
* Instruments used in general surgery
There are many different Surgery, surgical specialties, some of which require very specific kinds of Surgical instrument, surgical instruments to perform.
General surgery is a specialty focused on the Abdomen, abdominal contents, as well as the ...
References
{{reflist
Surgical instruments