tenaculum

[ tuh-nak-yuh-luhm ]

noun

, plural te·nac·u·la [t, uh, -, nak, -y, uh, -l, uh].

1. Surgery. a small sharp-pointed hook set in a handle, used for seizing and picking up parts in operations and dissections.
2. Entomology. a clasplike appendage on the abdomen of a springtail, which holds the springing device in place.

tenaculum

/ tɪˈnækjʊləm /

noun

1. a surgical or dissecting instrument for grasping and holding parts, consisting of a slender hook mounted in a handle

Word History and Origins

Origin of tenaculum¹

1685–95; < Latin tenāculum instrument for gripping, equivalent to ten ( ēre ) to hold + -ā- (from v. stems ending in -ā-; gubernaculum ) + -culum -cule ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of tenaculum¹

C17: from Late Latin, from Latin tenēre to hold

Example Sentences

The patient is in the lithotomy position, the speculum is passed and the cervix pulled down by a tenaculum.

From Project Gutenberg

Nasal polyps were to be grasped with a sharp tenaculum, cum tenacillis acutis, and either wholly or partially extracted.

From Project Gutenberg

Soft polyps should be drawn out with a toothed tenaculum as far as can be without risk of breaking them off.

From Project Gutenberg