Certified Nurses Operating Room (CNOR) Practice Exam

Cutting tools in surgery are essential for making incisions, dissecting tissues, and performing other procedures that require sharpness and precision. The classification of instruments as cutting tools typically includes those that have an edge designed for cutting. Scalpels, for instance, have a sharp blade specifically designed to create incisions in the skin and other tissues with minimal trauma. Scissors are also cutting instruments, utilized for cutting tissue, sutures, or other materials during surgical procedures.

In contrast, forceps and clamps, while crucial for grasping and holding tissues, do not have cutting edges and therefore are categorized as grasping or clamping instruments. Needles and sutures are designed for stitching tissues back together rather than cutting them. Trocars and dilators are instruments used for creating access points in tissue or expanding spaces, but they do not primarily function as cutting tools. Thus, the correct classification of cutting instruments encompasses scalpel blades and surgical scissors, making them the right choice in this context.