SURGICAL INSTRUMENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does surgical instrument mean? 

• SURGICAL INSTRUMENT (noun)
  The noun SURGICAL INSTRUMENT has 1 sense:

1. a medical instrument used in surgery

  Familiarity information: SURGICAL INSTRUMENT used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SURGICAL INSTRUMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A medical instrument used in surgery

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("surgical instrument" is a kind of...):

medical instrument (instrument used in the practice of medicine)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "surgical instrument"):

curet; curette (a surgical instrument shaped like a scoop to remove tissue from a bodily cavity)

dermatome (a surgical instrument used to cut very thin slices of skin)

dilater; dilator (a surgical instrument that is used to dilate or distend an opening or an organ)

haemostat; hemostat (a surgical instrument that stops bleeding by clamping the blood vessel)

photocoagulator (surgical instrument containing a laser for use in photocoagulation)

probe (a flexible slender surgical instrument with a blunt end that is used to explore wounds or body cavities)

retractor (surgical instrument that holds back the edges of a surgical incision)

snare (a surgical instrument consisting of wire hoop that can be drawn tight around the base of polyps or small tumors to sever them; used especially in body cavities)

surgical knife (a very sharp knife used in surgery)

trepan; trephine (a surgical instrument used to remove sections of bone from the skull)

 Context examples 

The study authors say the results should generate discussion about potential surgical instrument contamination and risk associated with procedures involving CJD patients.

(NIH scientists and collaborators find infectious prion protein in skin of CJD patients, National Institutes of Health)

A surgical instrument designed to maneuver internal anatomic structures during laparoscopic procedures, usually to permit an unobstructed view of the area of interest.

(Laparoscopic Retractor, NCI Thesaurus)

A surgical instrument is introduced into the spine with a balloon that is inflated to expand the bone.

(Kyphoplasty, NCI Thesaurus)