Artery clamps, also known as hemostatic forceps, are surgical tools used to close broken blood vessels and are commonly used by medics to rescue patients in danger of bleeding out. They come in many types and are made of stainless steel, carbon steel, titanium, or plastic. The earliest use of forceps dates back to ancient Egypt, and the precursor to modern forceps was invented by Jules-Emile Pean in 1868.
Artery clamps are surgical tools used to close broken blood vessels. The instrument, also called hemostatic and, more simply, forceps, is one of the most common tools of modern medicine. Artery clamps are commonly used by combat medics and civilian paramedics to rescue patients who are in immediate danger of dying from massive blood loss. Proper use can save patients valuable time while waiting for transport to the hospital.
Pliers are hinged tools used to hold a hard-to-grasp object in place. There are hundreds of types of forceps used in medicine, from surgery to obstetrics to dentistry. Tongs are commonly found in the home as tweezers and tongs. Artery clamps, of course, have a more specialized function.
Artery clamps usually have two looped, scissor-like handles, a thin but blunt nose, and a lock to ensure the tool maintains a firm grip on the blood vessel. The lockout allows surgeons and physicians to place multiple clamps on a critically bleeding patient. The pliers’ metal teeth, located near the finger loops, slide into place when the tool’s handles are pressed together. A doctor only needs to move their fingers slightly to unlock the teeth and allow the tool to release its grip. The tips of the forceps can be straight or curved.
There are many types of artery clamps. Carmalt hemostat is the heaviest and largest, often used to seal major blood vessels. The smaller Kelly Pliers can be used for more delicate work. The even smaller mosquito forceps, also called Halsted’s forceps, can close even the smallest blood vessels. Crile forceps, also known as Pean forceps, have serrated tips that, somewhat counterintuitively, cause less damage to delicate tissue than the smooth or dotted gripping surfaces found on other forceps. Right-angle forceps use a bent tip to reach into blood vessels blocked by other tissue.
Artery forceps are commonly made of stainless steel, making them easy to wash and sterilize. They can also be fashioned from stronger carbon steel and much lighter titanium. The disposable versions are made of plastic.
The earliest use of forceps is thought to date back to ancient Egypt, while the concept of tying off blood vessels to stop bleeding can be traced back to the Roman physician Aelius Galen, otherwise known as Galen of Pergamon. A French surgeon named Jules-Emile Pean is credited with inventing the precursor to modern forceps in 1868. This early type of hemostat is still in use and is sometimes referred to as Pean’s forceps.
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