1. Blog3: Rumex.net The Legacy Of Forceps There may be many times when you would have used forceps or have seen someone using it. It’s a very common and sometimes life saving-tool. God knows what humanity would have done without them! But we surely are so selfish that we don’t even think about thanking the one who invented this simple yet highly useful device. Many changes have been done to its basic design in accordance to its application. The invention of surgical forceps has been attributed to Stephen Hales, but nobody knows who got the basic idea first? Whoever did that, was surely a genius! So what basically are forceps? Forceps are a handheld, hinged instruments that are used for grasping and holding objects which are too small for human fingers to hold properly during a task. Its plural is forcipes. Etymologically, the term has been derived from the Latin word froca, which means a trap. The term “forceps” is used exclusively in the medical field, where it is often prefixed by its application, such as dressing forceps, atraumatic forceps, suturing forceps and the like. Outside medical field people usually call it by the name of tweezers, tongs, clamps, clips, or pliers. The forceps used for surgical purposes are commonly made of high-grade carbon steel. This is to ensure that they withstand repeated sterilization inhigh-temperature autoclaves. Whereas forceps used for other activities are made up of lower quality steel. Similarly, some forceps are indented to be used only once and disposed off after that. They are usually made up of plastic.