A surgical instrument used to crush the fetal skull to assist in difficult childbirth deliveries.
From Greek 'kephale' (head) + Latin 'tribuere' (to press, crush). The suffix '-tribe' indicates a crushing action, distinguishing this instrument from cutting instruments.
The cephalotribe is one of obstetric medicine's most sobering instruments—it was specifically designed to gradually crush an undeliverable fetus's skull, compressing it small enough to pass through the birth canal and save the mother's life, a grim calculus of historical medicine.
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