AUTOPSY INSTRUMENTS

Dr. Abhishek Karn

Assoc. Professor
Dept. of Forensic Medicine, UCMSTH
• Autopsy instruments might be placed in spotting or
may be given to you during viva & asked to identify &
comment about its use during autopsy.
Scalpel:
• For incisions.
• This differs from the surgeon's scalpel in having a longer
handle for reaching deeper into body cavities.
• The disposable blade is usually a #22 size, which is the largest
commonly available.
Rib cutters:
• These look like small pruning shears and are used to cut
through the ribs prior to lifting off the chest plate. 
Enterotome:
• These large scissors are used for opening the intestines.
• The bulb-ended blade is inserted into the lumen (the hollow
inside) of the gut, and the instrument is smoothly stripped
down the length of the intestine.
• The blunt bulb keeps the internal blade from perforating the
gut from the inside.
Dissecting Scissors:
• These are otherwise unremarkable scissors used for opening
hollow organs (such as the gallbladder) and trimming off
tissues.
• They can also be used for blunt dissection by means of an
"opening" motion, rather than the more familiar "closing"
motion used in cutting.
Toothed forceps:
• The teeth on these "pickups" lend strength in gripping heavy
organs for removal.
• In surgical pathology, teeth are a liability in that they increase
the risk of cross contamination between specimens, so
untoothed forceps are used there.
Bread-knife:
• Also referred to simply as the "long knife," this is used to
smoothly cut solid organs into slices for examination, display,
and photography of the organs' cut surfaces, including stripping
the gut from the mesentery and opening the heart chambers
with this large, unlikely-looking blade 
Bone saw: (Councilmann’s Saw)
• This hand saw is rarely used today, most often by pathologists
who fear infection from aersols thrown up by the much more
vigorous vibrating saw.
• The hand saw can be used to saw through the skull, but it's
very slow-going compared to the vibrating saw.
Vibrating saw:
• The vibrating saw, also referred to eponymously as the "Stryker
saw," is the instrument of choice for opening the skull &
removing the brain.
• The blade reciprocates rapidly with a small amplitude. This
action prevents the saw from cutting soft tissues, notably the
prosector's hand.
• The disadvantage of vibrating saws is that they throw up more
potentially infectious aerosols than do hand saws.
Skull chisel:
• After scoring the calvarium (the vault-like part of the skull that
holds the brain) with the vibrating saw or hand saw, the chisel
is used to gently finish the separation of the top of the
calvarium from the lower skull, thus exposing the brain and its
coverings (meninges).
Hammer with hook:
• The hammer  is used with the chisel to separate the calvarium
from the lower skull.
• The hook is handy to pull the calvarium away.
Hagedorn needle:
• Also called the sailmaker's needle, this is a large needle with
an eye for suturing the body after the autopsy is finished.
Heavy twine, which is much coarser than suture, is used for
the procedure.
THANK YOU