A
scalpel is a small but extremely sharp bladed instrument used for
surgery, anatomical
dissection, and various
arts and crafts. Scalpels may be disposable or re-usable. Re-usable scalpels can have attached, resharpenable blades or, more commonly, non-attached, replaceable blades. Disposable scalpels usually have a plastic handle with an extensible blade (like a
utility knife) and are used once, then the entire instrument discarded. Double-edged scalpels are called
lancets.
Scalpel blades are usually of hardened and tempered
steel. Medical blades are made of 440C
stainless steel, while craft blades can be made of
high carbon steel; in addition,
titanium,
ceramic,
diamond and even
obsidian knives are not uncommon. For example, when performing surgery under
MRI guidance, steel blades are unusable (the blades would be drawn to the magnets) or may cause image
artifacts. Alternatives to scalpels in surgical applications include
electrocautery and
lasers.
Surgical scalpels
Surgical scalpels consist of two parts, a blade and a handle. The handles are reusable, with the blades being replaceable. In medical applications, each blade is only used once (even if just for a single, small cut). Medical scalpel handles come in two basic types. The first is a flat handle used in the #3 and #4 handles. The #7 handle is more like a long writing pen, rounded at the front and flat at the back. A #4 handle is larger than a #3, and while some blades fit both others are too large or small and can only fit one or the other. The following table of blades is incomplete and some blades listed may work with handles not specified here.
Gripping a medical scalpel
Palmar grip
Also called the "dinner knife" grip. The handle is held with the second through fourth fingers and secured along the base of the thumb, with the index finger extended along the top rear of the blade and the thumb along the side of the handle. This grip is best for initial incisions and larger cuts.
Pencil grip
Best used for more precise cuts with smaller blades (e.g. #15) and the #7 handle. The scalpel is held with the tips of the first and second fingers and the tip of the thumb with the handle resting on the fleshy base of the index finger and thumb. Care should be taken not to allow the handle to rest too far along the index finger as this promotes an unstable grip and cramped fingers. This is widely considered the non-standard grip by the medical professionals, despite its more practical usage.
Safety scalpels
In the last decade, a rising awareness of the dangers of sharps in a medical environment has led to the development of various methods of protecting healthcare workers from accidental cuts and puncture wounds. According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 1,000 people each day are subject to accidental needle sticks and lacerations while providing medical care. Companies like
Jai Surgicals,
Bard-Parker, and
Shippert Medical Technologies offer lines of retractable blade scalpels which protect users by covering the blade when not in use. Some such scalpels are disposable and others feature replaceable blades on re-usable metal handles.
Graphic design and arts and crafts blades
X-Acto knife
and model-making scalpels tend to have round handles, with textured grips (either
knurled metal or soft plastic). These are often called by the name of the most well-known manufacturer of graphic arts blades,
X-Acto knives. The blade is usually flat and straight, allowing it to be run easily against a
straightedge to produce straight cuts.
There are many kinds of graphic arts blades, the most common around the graphic design studio is the #11 blade which is very similar to a #11 surgical blade (q.v.). Other blade shapes are used for
wood carving, cutting leather and heavy fabric, etc.
Ancient scalpels
- Ancient Egyptians made incisions for embalming with scalpels of sharpened obsidian, a material that is still sometimes used in modern times.
See also
