Surgical & Dissecting Scissors

Medical scissors and surgical scissors have unlimited applications in the healthcare profession.  In fact, they’re such necessary items required for everyday use, it’s hard to imagine a world without them.  Surgeons and physicians alike have been using surgical scissors for thousands of years and there simply is no replacement for this vital instrument.

Scissors have been in use since the dawn of pre-history.  The first manifestation of this instrument can be traced back to the lever, first described by Archimedes in approximately 260 B.C.  However, the first recognizable incarnation of scissors were invented at some time around 1500 B.C. in ancient Egypt.  Evidence of this ancient tool was discovered in Egyptian ruins.  These ancient scissors were simply constructed from one piece of metal, completely different from the common two-blade-fulcrum design we use in modern times.  In approximately 100 A.D., modern cross-blade scissors were invented in ancient Rome.  Though they were most likely used by butchers and barbers, early surgeons and physicians had to have seen the multiplicity and intrinsic value of these instruments.

At this point in history it is quite possible that surgical scissors were used in combination with other surgical instruments to perform rough, crude operations such as extractions of foreign bodies (i.e. spear tips, arrowheads), amputations, and suturing operations.  At this time, such instruments as scalpels, lancets, probes, curettes, tweezers, surgical knives, and others were constructed of bronze, silver, and iron.  Many of these instruments continued to be used during medieval times, though manufacturing techniques had improved.

As for the modern scissors we use today, it is a popularly held opinion that they were invented by Leonarda da Vinci invented.  He supposedly used them to cut canvas that did not please him while painting, wanting only the best parts to show.

As medical and surgical instruments today, medical scissors and surgical scissors are vital instruments to have.  At Medical Supplies and Equipment Company, our on-line catalogue features the highest possible quality in operating scissors from industry leading manufacturers.  We distribute a wide range of surgical and medical scissors that have innumerable purposes and applications such as:

• Operations
• Suturing / Suture Removals
• Dissections
• Autopsies
• Bandage Removals
• Cast Removals
• First Aid Kits