RT Journal
T1 The history of the forceps: An investigation on the occurrence, evolution and use of the forceps from prehistoric times to the present day
JF Journal of the American Medical Association
JO Journal of the American Medical Association
YR 1939
FD December 16
VO 113
IS 25
SP 2264
OP 2264
DO 10.1001/jama.1939.02800500070033
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1939.02800500070033
AB In 1931 the author devised a three legged suture forceps and before publishing a description of it he reviewed various German, British and French instrument catalogues to make certain that his invention was original. He was amazed to find that in one catalogue (Jetter and Scheerer's Aesculap Musterbuch) there were more than a thousand different forceps. Of course, many of the models differed only slightly but there were at least 200 different types. The author then undertook to study the sources from which this "world of forceps" arose. For this purpose he reviewed not only medico-historical but also archeological literature. Furthermore, he visited many museums both in his native country (Denmark) and abroad (Sweden, France, Italy, Great Britain and Germany). Illustrations were made of a large number of different types of forceps and in this book the author has included 441 of them. The author defines forceps as a gripping