Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A long-handled, slender, hooked instrument for lifting and holding parts, such as blood vessels, during surgery.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A sharp hook, set in a handle, used for picking up arteries in surgical operations, and in dissections.
  • noun In entomology, the pair of microscopic chitinous processes on the under side of the abdomen of podurans or springtails, serving as a catch to hold the elater or springing-organ in place.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Surg.) An instrument consisting of a fine, sharp hook attached to a handle, and used mainly for taking up arteries, and the like.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A medical instrument consisting of a sharp hook attached to a handle; used mainly for taking up arteries and the like.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin tenāculum, holder, from Latin tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • “I have an instrument called a tenaculum to crack the sternum and to remove the ribs,” Goodsir said softly, “but I'm afraid I can't let you borrow it.

    The Terror Simmons, Dan 2007

  • After washing the cervix with antiseptic solution, the clinician will place a tenaculum a long-handled, slender instrument on the cervix.

    OUR BODIES, OURSELVES The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective 2005

  • A small, heavy-toothed saw; scissors, three scalpels-round-bladed, straight-bladed, scoop-bladed; the silver blade of a tongue depressor, a tenaculum-

    Drums of Autumn Gabaldon, Diana 1997

  • Catch: in Collembola, = tenaculum, q.v. Catenate: with longitudinal connected elevations like links in a chain.

    Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology John. B. Smith

  • Any small portions of cartilage remaining after this are sought for with the finger, and carefully removed by means of a scalpel and a tenaculum.

    Diseases of the Horse's Foot Harry Caulton Reeks

  • In like manner as is the tenaculum, the silk is attached to one edge of the wound, carried under the limb, and firmly secured to the other.

    Diseases of the Horse's Foot Harry Caulton Reeks

  • If you see him very savagely cut up in "The Revolver," you will recognize the kindly hands which held the bistoury, scalpel, and tenaculum, and the gentleman who wept while he wounded.

    The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 04, No. 21, July, 1859 Various

  • If found desirable to keep the edges of the wound apart, and no tenaculum to hand, the same end may be accomplished by means of a needle and silk.

    Diseases of the Horse's Foot Harry Caulton Reeks

  • It is now that the double tenaculum (Fig. 61) is applied.

    Diseases of the Horse's Foot Harry Caulton Reeks

  • Nasal polyps were to be grasped with a sharp tenaculum, _cum tenacillis acutis_, and either wholly or partially extracted.

    Old-Time Makers of Medicine The Story of The Students And Teachers of the Sciences Related to Medicine During the Middle Ages James Joseph Walsh 1903

Comments

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  • "The instruments gleamed under the smoky sun, bright despite a hazing of disuse.... A small, heavy-toothed saw; scissors, three scalpels... the silver blade of a tongue depressor, a tenaculum..."

    —Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn (NY: Dell, 1997), 135

    January 17, 2010