Study surgical instrument identification for your veterinary technician exam with these practice questions. This guide covers hemostatic forceps, tissue forceps, scissors, retractors, and specialty instruments.
Q: Brown Adson Thumb Tissue Forceps
Answer: Has a spring tension hinge and broad, flat shanks with slender tips, each tip has two rows of multiple opposing, intermeshed teeth.
Q: Adson Dressing Thumb Forceps
Answer: Jaws are slender with flat, serrated surfaces and no teeth.
Q: Hartman Mosquito Hemostatic Forceps
Answer: The grasping blades are opposing oval loops.
Q: Backhaus Roeder Towel Clamp
Answer: Blade faces are crosshatched and have opposing, matching longitudinal male-female grooves running the length of the blade. Crushing design.
Q: Bayonet Dressing Forceps
Answer: Long handled with triangular jaw and atraumatic teeth.
Q: Jones Towel Clamp
Answer: Non crushing with straight, smooth blades 6-9″ long. The middle is not closed when the tips are closed to prevent trauma to the patient.
Q: Foerster Sponge Holding Forceps
Answer: Full horizontal serrations and TEETH 1×2 on tips. Long blades and use a scissors like action to crush tissues. Jaws have aggressive, opposing, transverse grooves on the face with 1×2 interdigitating teeth.
Q: Ferguson Angiotribe Forceps
Answer: Crushing longitudinal serrations, cross tip serrations.
Q: Duval Lung Forceps
Answer: 5.5″ long with curved jaws that have Horizontal serrations along the distal half of the inner jaws and rounded tips.
Q: Scudder Intestinal Forceps
Answer: Slender and spring hinged with two broad, spoon shaped (cupped) tips with serrated edges.
Q: Rochester-Oschner Hemostatic Forceps
Answer: Spring hinge and narrow, tapered shanks with interlocking teeth on the tips.
Q: Bainbridge Intestinal Forceps
Answer: Firm metal pin that is sharpened on one or both ends.
Q: Kelly Hemostatic Forceps (Curved)
Answer: Semicircular in cross-section and has a pointed tip with a bevel edge.
Q: Babcock Intestinal Forceps
Answer: Tapered straight or curved jaws.
Q: Russian Thumb Tissue Forceps
Answer: Tapered jaws with very fine, sharp tips.
Q: Rat Tooth Thumb Forceps
Answer: Scissors built in proximal to the jaws. Vertical grooves on grasping surface. Rounded tips and flat, tapered, finely serrated jaws. Longitudinal grooves on the grasping surface.
Q: Thomas Schroeder Splint
Answer: Straight or curved jaw that fits like a puzzle.
Q: Mason Meta (Spoon) Splint
Answer: Small hook on one blade.
Q: Steinman Intramedullary Pin
Answer: Delicate, sharp, pointed tips.
Q: Kirschner Wire
Answer: Palm held handles that spring open when the ratchet is activated, grooved face of the blades.
Q: Gigli Saw Wire and Handle
Answer: 3-4″ and sharp points, may be straight or curved.
Q: Rush Pin
Answer: Left: Long, thin, round pencil like instrument with a tip that resembles a sickle, Right: Long, thin, round and pencil like also but with offset, tapering blunt tips that are scored or colored.
Q: Ruskin Rongeurs
Answer: Round body that tapers smoothly to a point.
Q: Lempert Rongeurs
Answer: Double eyed needle.
Q: Finochietto Needle Holder
Answer: Double ended, long handled, pencil like instrument with double working tips with cutting edges.
Q: Olsen-Hegar Needle Holder
Answer: Two straight cutting edges on a curved blade that ends in a single, sharp point.
Q: Metzenbaum Needle Holder
Answer: Body is triangular and has a sharpened cutting edge on the inside curve.
Q: Littauer Suture Removal Scissors
Answer: Both tips are straight and do not meet.
Q: Wire Cutting Scissors
Answer: Bulkier than other suckion tip. General purpose suction tip.
Q: Castroviejo Spatula
Answer: Thin, long handled probe like instrument shaped like a shepherd’s hook with a flat handle and a curved flat tip.
Q: Castroviejo Forceps
Answer: Checker-Board at tip of jaws= both vertical and horizontal serrations. Rest of jaws have vertical serrations. Jaws have aggressive, opposing, longitudinal grooves and crosshatching at the tip.
Q: Mathieu Needle Holder
Answer: Two slender, round blades with single sharp terminal points that separate as the handles are closed. The blades are bowed away from each other and turn out at right angles.
Q: Beaver Blade and Handle
Answer: Two slender bowed arms ending in claws, 3×4 interdigitating tooth configurations.
Q: Strabismus Scissors
Answer: Horizontal striations along the distal half of the inner jaws and rounded tips.
Q: McGuire Corneal Scissors
Answer: ? Flat, non serrated jaws, no cutting edge proximal to the jaw.
Q: Desmarres Hand Held Lid Retractor
Answer: Thin, long shanks and fine rounded tips. Blades are thin, delicate, and ~1/4 instruments length. Shaft is long & thin.
Q: Von Graefe Strabismus Hook
Answer: Horizontal serrations on full length of the jaws and fine tips.
Q: Iris Scissors
Answer: Small jaws. Small length (4.25- 4.75). Tips serrated.
Q: Barraquer Speculum
Answer: Neither hemostat nor thumb tissue forcep. This ring-handled forcep has multiple inward curving and interlocking fine teeth at the tip.
Q: Tyrell Iris Hook
Answer: Long, thin, bowed jaws with longitudinal striations along the entire length.
Q: Bunt Instrument Holder
Answer: Horizontal serrations along entire length of the inner jaws with rounded tips.
Q: Keyes Dermal Punch
Answer: LONGER or BIGGER than Crile. Horizontal Serrations all the way down jaw.
Q: “S” Curve Needle
Answer: 1 long blade with nodule at tip &1 shorter blade
Q: Instrument Rack
Answer: Blades are thick and ~ 1/3 of instruments lengthBlades can be straight or curvedused when cutting large muscle masses, cartilage, or any other nondelicate tissue.
Q: Luxating Dental Elevator
Answer: Single tube with a fairly small opening. Often a thumb hole to help control amount of vacuum. Frequently used in orthopedic and neurologic procedures.
Q: Spring Needle Rack
Answer: Single beveled edge like a chisel.
Q: White Toe Nail Trimmer
Answer: One tip has two delicate teeth that interlock with a single tooth on the opposite jaw.
Q: Shepherd’s Hook Explorer (Left)/Periodontal Probe (Right)
Answer: Heavy with 4 pointed prongs on bowed jaws.
Q: Tapered Needle
Answer: Longitudinal serrations and 1×2 teeth at the tips.
Q: French Eyed Needle
Answer: Double beveled edge like a knife.
Q: Universal Curettes
Answer: Similar to Mayo-Hegar, but is often LONGER and has finer, more delicate jaw.