Forceps are a handheld, hinged instrument used for grasping and holding objects. Forceps are used when fingers are too large to grasp small objects or when many objects need to be held at one time while the hands are used to perform a task. The term "forceps" is used almost exclusively in the fields of biology and medicine. Outside biology and medicine, people usually refer to forceps as tweezers, tongs, pliers, clips or clamps.
Plastic forceps are intended to be disposable
Blunt-nosed thumb forceps with serrated tips for increased grip.
Debakey forceps, an "atraumatic" forceps used extensively in cardiothoracic, vascular and head and neck surgery.
Tweezers are small hand tools used for grasping objects too small to be easily handled with the human fingers. Tweezers are thumb-driven forceps most likely derived from tongs used to grab or hold hot objects since the dawn of recorded history. In a scientific or medical context, they are normally referred to as just "forceps", a name that is used together with other grasping surgical instruments that resemble pliers, pincers and scissors-like clamps.
Two types of modern-day conventional metal tweezers with pointed tips
A pair of bronze tweezers attributed to the Minoan civilization, c. 2900–1050 B.C.
Gold tweezers recovered from the Royal Cemetery of Ur, Iraq 2550-2450 B.C.
Flat tip conventional tweezers