A knife is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of wood, bone, and stone, over the centuries, in step with improvements in both metallurgy and manufacturing, knife blades have been made from copper, bronze, iron, steel, ceramic, and titanium. Most modern knives have either fixed or folding blades; blade patterns and styles vary by maker and country of origin.
Shaving is the removal of hair, by using a razor or any other kind of bladed implement, to slice it down—to the level of the skin or otherwise. Shaving is most commonly practiced by men to remove their facial hair and by women to remove their leg and underarm hair. A man is called clean-shaven if he has had his beard entirely removed.
A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws.
Hydraulic rescue tools, also known as jaws of life, are used by emergency rescue personnel to assist in the extrication of victims involved in vehicle accidents, as well as other rescues in small spaces. These tools include cutters, spreaders, and rams. Such devices were first used in 1963 as a tool to free race car drivers from their vehicles after crash.
A table saw is a woodworking tool, consisting of a circular saw blade, mounted on an arbor, that is driven by an electric motor. The drive mechanism is mounted below a table that provides support for the material, usually wood, being cut, with the blade protruding up through the table into the material.
A microkeratome is a precision surgical instrument with an oscillating blade designed for creating the corneal flap in LASIK or ALK surgery. The normal human cornea varies from around 500 to 600 μm in thickness; and in the LASIK procedure, the microkeratome creates an 83 to 200 μm thick flap. The microkeratome uses an oscillating blade system, which has a blade that oscillates horizontally as the blade travels vertically for a precise cut. This piece of equipment is used all around the world to cut the cornea flap. The microkeratome is also used in Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK), where it is used to slice a thin layer from the back of the donor cornea, which is then transplanted into the posterior cornea of the recipient. It was invented by Jose Barraquer and Cesar Carlos Carriazo in the 1950s in Colombia.
An orthopedic cast, or simply cast, is a shell, frequently made from plaster or fiberglass, that encases a limb to stabilize and hold anatomical structures—most often a broken bone, in place until healing is confirmed. It is similar in function to a splint.
Vehicle extrication is the process of removing a patient from a vehicle who has been involved in a motor vehicle collision. Patients who have not already exited a crashed vehicle may be medically or physically trapped and may be pinned by wreckage or simply unable to exit a vehicle.
Vacuum forming is a simplified version of thermoforming, where a sheet of plastic is heated to a forming temperature, stretched onto a single-surface mould, and forced against the mould by a vacuum. This process can be used to form plastic into permanent objects such as turnpike signs and protective covers. Normally draft angles are present in the design of the mould to ease removal of the formed plastic part from the mould.
A miter saw or mitre saw is a saw used to make accurate crosscuts and miters in a workpiece by positioning a mounted blade onto a board. A miter saw in its earliest form was composed of a back saw in a miter box, but in modern implementation consists of a powered circular saw that can be positioned at a variety of angles and lowered onto a board positioned against a backstop called the fence.
A surgical instrument is a medical device for performing specific actions or carrying out desired effects during a surgery or operation, such as modifying biological tissue, or to provide access for viewing it. Over time, many different kinds of surgical instruments and tools have been invented. Some surgical instruments are designed for general use in all sorts of surgeries, while others are designed for only certain specialties or specific procedures.
A reciprocating saw is a type of handheld, small, machine-powered saw, in which the cutting action is achieved through a push-and-pull ("reciprocating") or back-and-forth motion of the blade. The original trade name, Sawzall, is often used in the United States, where Milwaukee Electric Tool first produced a tool of this type in 1951.
A hair clipper, often individually called the apparent plurale tantumhair clippers, is a specialised tool used to cut human head hair. Hair clippers work on the same principle as scissors, but are distinct from scissors themselves and razors. Similar but heavier-duty implements are used to shear sheep, but are called handpieces or machine shears.
A removable shoe insert, otherwise known as a foot orthosis, insole or inner sole, accomplishes many purposes, including daily wear comfort, height enhancement, plantar fasciitis treatment, arch support, foot and joint pain relief from arthritis, overuse, injuries, leg length discrepancy, and other causes such as orthopedic correction and athletic performance.
Homer Hartman Stryker was an American orthopedic surgeon, inventor, businessman, and the founder of Stryker Corporation. His inventions contributed to orthopedic care, patient comfort, and medical staff convenience.
The Ponseti method is a manipulative technique that corrects congenital clubfoot without invasive surgery. It was developed by Ignacio V. Ponseti of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, US, in the 1950s, and was repopularized in 2000 by John Herzenberg in the US and Europe and in Africa by NHS surgeon Steve Mannion. It is a standard treatment for clubfoot.
Bandage scissors, or bandage forceps, are scissors that often have an angled tip with a blunt tip on the bottom blade. This helps in cutting bandages without gouging the skin. Lister bandage scissors and utility bandage scissors exhibit the well known angle, while Knowles bandage scissors have blades that are either straight or curved.
An oscillating multi-tool or oscillating saw is a multitool and power tool that oscillates, powered by battery or mains. The name "multi-tool" is a reference to the many functions that this tool can perform with the range of attachments available. "Master Tool" is also a trade name used in North America, short for the original tool by Fein called the Multi-Master. Attachments are available for sawing, sanding, rasping, grinding, scraping, cutting, and polishing.
A jigsaw is a reciprocating saw that can cut irregular curves, such as stenciled designs, in wood, metal, or other materials.
Total contact casting (TCC) is a specially designed cast designed to take weight off of the foot (off-loading) in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). Reducing pressure on the wound by taking weight off the foot has proven to be very effective in DFU treatment. DFUs are a major factor leading to lower leg amputations among the diabetic population in the US with 85% of amputations in diabetics being preceded by a DFU. Furthermore, the five-year post-amputation mortality rate among diabetics is estimated at 45% for those with neuropathic DFUs.
