There are many different surgical specialties, some of which require very specific kinds of surgical instruments to perform. General surgery is a specialty focused on the abdominal contents, as well as the thyroid gland, and diseases involving skin, breasts, various soft tissues, trauma, peripheral vascular disease, hernias, and endoscopic procedures. This page is dedicated specifically to listing surgical instruments used in general surgery. Instruments can be classified in many ways - but broadly speaking, there are five kinds of instruments. Instruments used in surgery are: