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A curette is a surgical instrument designed for scraping or
Curette images from the Waring Historical Library at the Medical University of South Carolina
Surgical instruments {{Surgical instruments
A curette is a surgical instrument designed for scraping or debriding
Debridement is the medical removal of dead, damaged, or infected tissue to improve the healing potential of the remaining healthy tissue. Removal may be surgical, mechanical, chemical, autolytic (self-digestion), and by maggot therapy.
...
biological tissue or debris in a biopsy, excision, or cleaning procedure. In form, the curette is a small hand tool
A hand tool is any tool that is powered by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutters, files, striking tools, struck or hammered tools, screwdrivers, vises, clamps, snips, hacksaws, drills, and kni ...
, often similar in shape to a stylus
A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...
; at the tip of the curette is a small scoop, hook, or gouge. The verb ''to curette'' means "to scrape with a curette", and curettage ( or ) is treatment that involves such scraping.
Uses
Some examples of medical use of a curette include: * the removal of impactedear wax
An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists ...
;
* dilation and curettage of the uterus, a gynecologic
Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...
procedure;
*excision of many benign tumors and some malignant tumors
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal ble ...
;
* excision of the adenoids ( adenoidectomy) by an otolaryngologist;
* to scrape tartar deposits from tooth enamel with a periodontal curette.
See also
*Ear pick
Ear picks, also called ear scoops, or ear spoons, or earpicks, are a type of curette used to clean the ear canal of earwax (cerumen). They are preferred and are commonly used in East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia because Asians tend to d ...
References
External links
Curette images from the Waring Historical Library at the Medical University of South Carolina
Surgical instruments {{Surgical instruments