A cranioclast (from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
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 of all kno ...
κρανίον ''kranion'' "head, skull" and -κλάστης ''-klastes'' "breaker") 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 ...
akin to a strong
forceps
Forceps (: 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. Forcep ...
. It was once used to crush and then extract the skull of a
fetus
A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic development, embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Pren ...
so as to facilitate delivery in cases of obstructed labour.
''Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary'': "cranioclast"
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Pictures
Image:Medical_Instruments_O&G_Cranioclast_open.jpg, Open
Image:Medical_Instruments_O&G_Cranioclast_closed.jpg, Closed
See also
* Cephalotribe
A cephalotribe was a medical instrument used in obstetrics to crush the skull of stillborn fetuses (cephalotripsy). It was used in cases of obstructed labor (dystocia) to aid delivery.W.L. Richardson (January 3, 1878).Recent progress in obstetric ...
* Puerperal fever
The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to last for six to eight weeks. There are three distinct phases of the postnatal period; the acute phase, lasting for six to twelve hours after birth; the ...
* Instruments used in general surgery
There are many different Surgery, surgical specialties, some of which require specific kinds of Surgical instrument, surgical instruments to perform.
General surgery is a specialty focused on the abdomen; the Thyroid, thyroid gland; Disease, dis ...
References
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Surgical instruments