fenestrum

— I cannot believe that the most expert obstetrician could have detected the presence of the arm in the fenestrum before the attempted withdrawal of the instruments. For this reason I am ready to inquire whether the fenestrum has any reason to exist. What is it good for, anyway? It has been said in most of the systemic treatises that the fenestrum gives lightness to the forceps, but this proposition, which is at first glance very plausible, admits of question.[…]In any instrument shop we may find examples of forceps which appear to have passed through this line of development; they are light blades with big fenestra and thick metal.