"Artery forceps," "haemostat," "Kelly" and "mosquito" show up almost interchangeably on supplier listings, and the catalogue entry behind this guide is itself named "Artery / mosquito / Kelly haemostat" — one SKU covering what buyers actually treat as three different asks. The terms aren't fully interchangeable: they describe a family of instruments and two specific patterns within it, and the difference between them is the jaw a surgeon actually needs in hand.
What "artery forceps" actually names
Artery forceps is the umbrella term — largely a UK and Commonwealth usage — for the whole family of ratcheted, box-locked instruments used to clamp blood vessels during surgery; "haemostat" is the more common umbrella term in US usage for the same family. Kelly and mosquito are two specific patterns inside that family, not synonyms for the whole category, and a listing that just says "artery forceps" without naming a pattern is really asking the buyer to guess which one.
Mosquito vs. Kelly: the practical difference
- Mosquito — smaller and more delicate, commonly around 12.5cm, straight or curved jaws, sized for small vessels and fine work such as ophthalmic, paediatric or plastic-surgery procedures.
- Kelly — larger and heavier, commonly 14cm and up to 16cm, serrated jaws for a secure hold on bigger vessels or a bite of tissue, the general-purpose pattern behind most everyday haemostasis.
- A third pattern worth not confusing with either: Kocher, which adds a toothed tip (often a 1×2 tooth) for a firmer grip on tougher tissue at the cost of being more traumatic to delicate structures — a different tool for a different job, not a Kelly variant.
Serration and the box lock
The jaw's inner face carries transverse serrations — fine parallel grooves — running the working length, which is what lets the instrument hold a vessel closed without simply crushing it shut; a cross-serrated variant trades some of that gentleness for a firmer grip on tougher tissue. The box lock itself — the pinned hinge joining the two halves — combined with a ratcheted handle is what lets the jaws self-lock at a chosen width, freeing the surgeon's hand; it's the standard reusable-instrument joint, distinct from a cheaper screw-pin hinge that loosens with repeated sterilization cycles.
Material: this is a 420-steel pattern
Kelly and mosquito patterns are typically made from 420-grade martensitic stainless — the same mid-hardness, general-purpose grade behind most everyday reusable instruments (see our steel-grades guide), hardened to roughly 50-55 HRC for a balance of edge/jaw retention, corrosion resistance and cost. Some economy listings use 410 for the same pattern, trading some hardness and corrosion resistance for a lower price — worth asking which grade a quoted price actually reflects rather than assuming "surgical stainless" means one specific thing.
What to specify in an RFQ
- Pattern by name — mosquito or Kelly, not just "artery forceps" or "haemostat"
- Length: ~12.5cm for mosquito, 14cm or 16cm for Kelly
- Straight or curved jaw
- Serration: standard transverse or cross-serrated
- Steel grade — 420 as the general-purpose default, 410 only if the lower price is the point
- Finish: satin or mirror
Official sources
These sources support the market or regulatory context. Supplier capability still requires product-level verification.
This guide provides general commercial education. Product-specific technical, legal and regulatory requirements should be confirmed for the selected product and destination market.