Description: In its infancy, trocars were used for draining fluids from a patient’s body. The device pictured here was used to drain fluids from a patient’s pleural cavity in the case of a pleural effusion or pneumothorax. In modern medicine, however, trocars have been developed to be used during laparoscopic procedures to create small incisions in outer tissue layers to then insert cannulas through which surgical instruments and cameras may be placed.
Origin: Circa 1860s; United States