INSTRUMENT

Scalpel Handles—#3, #4, and #8

FUNCTION	To incise and transect. These handles hold a variety of sizes of surgical blades firmly in place while allowing the user to maneuver and maintain a comfortable grip. The #3 handle is used primarily for surgery in small animals; the #4 and #8 handles are used for surgery in large animals.
CHARACTERISTICS	Handles #3 and #4 are spatula like and have ribbed grip areas. The #8 handle is plastic and is contoured to fit the hand, which makes the user’s grip on it more secure in cold temperatures. Each handle size has a blade seat of a different size.

FUNCTION	To make incisions, cut tissues, or débride dead tissue from wounds.
CHARACTERISTICS	Each blade has its own shape and function.
	#10—A general blade that is used for most procedures in small animals; fits a #3 handle.
	#11—Used to puncture the skin, open an artery, and sever ligaments; fits a #3 handle.
	#12—Used to lance an abscess; fits a #3 handle.
	#15—Used for small, precise, or curved incisions; commonly used to declaw cats; fits a #3 handle.
	#20 and #23—General blades used for most procedures in large animals; fits a #4 or #8 handle.

FUNCTION	To shield underlying tissues while making an incision and to help make a straight incision line. A small stab incision is made through the skin and muscle layer using a scalpel blade. The groove director is introduced into the small incision and held parallel to the muscle layer. The trough is used to guide the scalpel as it makes the incision.
CHARACTERISTICS	A heart-shaped handle lies at one end of an open, troughlike, tapered tube that extends along its length.