tenaculum /tənak″yələm/ pl. tenacula [L, holder] , a clip or clamp with long handles used to grasp, immobilize, and hold an organ or a piece of tissue. Kinds of tenacula include the abdominal tenaculum, which has long arms and small hooks; the forceps tenaculum, which has long hooks and is used in gynecological surgery; and the uterine or cervical tenaculum, which has short hooks or open, eye-shaped clamps used to hold the cervix.
