An unusual 19th century instrument of foetal destruction which served a multitude of functions.

The heavy outer forceps blades could be used as a cranioclast to crush the foetal head in the event of obstructed labour. This would first require the skull to be collapsed, and the central pointed perforator could perform this task in addition to being used as a secondary grip to pull extract the foetal parts piecemeal. In fact the instrument was rarely used as it was impractical.

• From the Phisick collection