title: The Spencer Wells forceps.
abstract: This is the first of a six-part biographical series tracing the lives of the people behind some of today's most commonly used surgical instruments. Surely the most recognisable 'name behind the instrument' must be that of Sir Thomas Spencer Wells (1818-1897), whose ratchet haemostatic forceps represented a simple but important advance in surgical instrument technology.
authors.affiliation: University of London, Department of Anatomy, Guy's Hospital, London.
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ellis
mesh_terms: D006488:Hemostasis, Surgical / Q000266:history* / Q000295:instrumentation*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D013523:Surgical Equipment / Q000266:history*; D006113:United Kingdom