Dental Bone Rongeurs

A rongeur is a strongly constructed instrument with a sharp-edged, scoop-shaped tip, used for gouging out bone . Rongeur is a French word that means rodent or 'gnawer'. ^[1] A rongeur can be used to open a window in bone, often in the skull. It is used in neurosurgery , podiatric surgery , and orthopedic surgery to expose areas for operation. ^[2]

A rongeur is also used in oral maxillofacial surgery. It is also used in hand surgery to cut traumatic amputated bone to allow skin to be closed over the defect.^{[ citation needed ]}

A rongeur can also be used in cadaver dissection lab to break through ribs when removing the anterior chest wall.