Post-mortem clamps occlude and hold the gastrointestinal tract during autopsy, so contents stay contained while the specimen is opened and examined. Peak Surgicals supplies Lane's Bowel Clamp 7" (177mm) Straight (PS-P-0009, $27.50), a ratcheted intestinal clamp in German stainless steel, CE-marked and built under ISO 13485. See the full specification in the grid below.
Why Lane's Pattern? The No-Touch Principle
A bowel clamp exists so the surgeon's hand never has to touch what it holds, and that principle comes directly from the man the pattern is named after. Sir William Arbuthnot Lane, working at Guy's Hospital in London, introduced the no-touch technique and designed a series of long-handled instruments specifically to minimise tissue handling. The bowel clamp is one of them, and several of his designs remain in use today.
The clamp's jaws are longitudinally serrated rather than toothed, so they close on the bowel wall with distributed pressure instead of penetrating it, and the ratchet holds that closure without the hand. Lane's Bowel Clamp 7" (177mm) Straight (PS-P-0009, $27.50) is the standard pattern, straight-jawed for occlusion along a section of bowel rather than at an angle. We supply at MOQ 1.
Length and Jaw Shape in the Post Mortem Room
In the post mortem room, the requirement is containment rather than tissue preservation. The gastrointestinal tract is clamped before it is separated so that contents do not escape into the body cavity or onto the table, which protects both the specimen for examination and the prosector handling it.
The 7" length is the working size for this: long enough for the handles to sit outside the cavity while the jaws are down in it, short enough to stay controllable in a confined field. Straight jaws suit occlusion along a run of bowel, where a curved pattern would only be needed to follow anatomy the prosector is not preserving.
Material, Reprocessing and Certification
The clamp is forged from German stainless steel and passivated for corrosion resistance across repeated cycles. The inspection point is the box lock and ratchet: close to the first tooth and confirm it holds without slipping, then check the serrated jaw faces meet along their full length with no daylight at the tip. Post mortem instruments see heavier soiling than theatre instruments, so clean immediately with a neutral-pH enzymatic solution, brushing into the box lock and serrations, then rinse with deionised water and dry fully before autoclaving at 134°C.
This is a Class I reusable device, CE marked and built under ISO 13485, with a one-year manufacturing warranty. We ship at MOQ 1 with free shipping over $99, and OEM production is available for distributors. Browse the full Post Mortem Instruments range. Talk to us about OEM terms.
